Manhattan's Queen
by Caroline Lucky Conlon
Summary: Caroline, the name of a beautiful woman. Yep, that's what they call me. It's a name I don't deserve. Although, I do deserve the name Liar...which is what they now will call me. Anonymous Reviews Welcome :
1. Me and Me Boys

**Chapter 1: Me and My boys**

**Written while listening to: Carrying the Banner(:**

Caroline's P.O.V

"_I love you so much Caroline, don't leave." My best friend embraced me in hug. He held me close like he wasn't going to let go I took in everything about him, his scent, his blonde hair but most of all his haunting blue eyes. At that very moment, however, he pulled away. His tears were replaced with a smirk. "Caroline, get up. You're dreamin', Time for youse to get ready for selling." I stood perfectly still in total shock. He began shaking me rapidly, "CAROLINE GETS UP!"_

I blinked my eyes open to the sun streaming out of the window that was only a few feet from my head. It burned, defiantly not something I enjoy waking up too.

Even though I was awake, I quickly realized, the screaming and shaking continued. The only thing that was different was the voice was much scratchier and older. I rolled over to face Tom Kloppman, the Manhattans lodging house manager. _Why did he always have to come and ruin my most wonderful dreams?_ I quickly decided to roll back over and pulled my hat down over my eyes and begged for the dream to come back.

"Oh come on Caroline, you dreamin' about selling papers?" he flipped me over onto my back. For an old man he was strong and very persistent...that was the only thing I hated about him. Out of nowhere, he began tickling me. I screamed and laughed, while he stole my hat off of my head, once again revealing my face to the bright sun.

"Okay, okay, you win again! I'm getting up," I managed to say through many laughs. He turned to leave the room with a triumphant smile on his face. I cleared my throat, "Can you give me my hat back please?" he chuckled, threw it at my face, and continued his way through the door.

I kept the smile on my face and sat up in my bed. I was in my bedroom at the lodging house which was just outside of the bunkroom. The lodging house has been my home since I was around seven years old, when I first became a newsie. Kloppman gave me the room for the reason being I have been the only girl in Manhattan at the moment. Plus the boys liked giving me space which I gladly accepted.

Since I moved in, I had tried to make it as homey as possible. I had my own mirror in here that I never used and on another wall, I had started a collection of newspaper clippings. They were pretty much random headlines. They were mostly about really important events or they came out on important dates…but that was about it in my room. I had no money for anything else.

I ran my hand through my chestnut hair and stood up. I walked over to my chest at the foot of my bed and took out my white button down, my black knickers and a pair of red suspenders. All of them were hand-me-downs from my younger brother. I got changed quickly and began to head out of my room, when almost instinctively turned around and grabbed my brown cabby of my bed.

The minute I stepped out of my room, I was greeted by good mornings and smiles from multiple boys. Most of them were in there long underwear and a lot of them didn't have shirts on. See, girls my age would be in heaven right…I saw this every day, and after a while, you became used to it. On my way to the washroom I was stopped by a very tan boy and a bright attitude, we all knew him as Mush.

"Heya Caroline, how did ya sleep?" he said with a smile on his face.

"On me back Mush." I said with a smug look. Suddenly he burst out laughing as if it was the funniest thing he had ever heard in his life. That's Mush for you, happy and peppy.

"Ha, did ya hear that fellas, I asked Caroline how she slept and she said on me back!" I smacked his arm hard causing him to walk away still laughing. I began walking once more to be pulled over by my other good friend, Crutchy.

"Good morning Caroline, I hope you slept well," smiling as he said this. That was the most amazing thing about Crutchy, he never stopped smiling. Even through all the pain he had gone through his life, losing his right leg at a very young age, along with his parents in a fire a few months later.

"Yes I did, thank you very much," I smiled back, finally opening the door to the washroom. I held it for Crutchy, who wobbled his way in, giving me a small nod in thanks.

The boys were all crowding around the mirrors and in the toilet areas. I made my way over to the mirror, finding a small area but the boys cleared out once they saw me. I mumbled thanks and smiled at them as I put my hair into a pair of loose braids and stuck my hat on my head. Then I grabbed a rag that was in the sink and washed my face.

"Ya know sis, youse look beautiful no matter what," I looked up as soon as I heard my brothers voice coming from behind me. He had on his signature black cabby hat I gave him for his tenth birthday. He wore it on racing days…which for him, was every day.

"Thanks Race," I gave him a small hug and moved to the side to share my mirror with him. We both got ready quickly and he ran off to get changed as I looked at myself one last time before I quickly followed them.

"Come on, time for work! Presses are rollin'," Kloppmans' voice boomed through the room. We all tumbled down the steps and made our way towards the printing station. Racetrack and I led the group as usually.

Everyone was talking to one another and having a good time as we did every morning. Racetrack and I caught up on his plan for after selling. We also talked about nice fillies he was thinking about betting on and I told him to be careful not to waste our money.

That was the way our relationship worked. I was the more mature one; I accepted that responsibility a long time ago. I wanted him to live his life and not to worry about money and everything, to let him be a kid and have fun when I couldn't. I promised my mom that it would be that way.

As we approached the distribution center, we quickly learned the gate was closed. As usual, Weasel was late…I still can't understand why that man still has this job. He is late every single day and treats us like dirt. Then a foul stench distracted me from my thoughts.

"Dear me, what is that unpleasant aroma?" Race took off his hat and began fanning himself as the Delancy brothers inched closer to the front line of newsies, particularly closer to me. Oscars was smirking at me, looking me up and down, while Meyers looked clueless… as usual. "Smells like the sewers backed up in the night."

"Nah, to rotten to be the sewers." Mush said smiling, also stepping in front of me protectively. Mush had become like another brother over the years. He always would try to protect me, fight by my side and even pay for my lunch, even though I told him no countless times. He always made sure I was okay.

"Yeah, it must be the Delancy brothers!" the newsies all laughed at the joke Crutchy made. Oscars face went red with anger, and looked at Tumbler, our youngest newsie. He grabbed him behind the back of his neck and threw him to the ground.

"Get to the back of the line, you rotten little shrimp." he yelled at Tumbler, who looked like he was about to cry. I emerged from behind Mush, and helped my young boy up. I dusted him off and handed him to Racetrack, who took him in his arms and I stood only but a few inches from Oscars face.

"You really shouldn't have done that," I put on my protective face. No one touched my boys. "Besides who are you calling a rotten little shrimp? Well that is if you are referring to the family resemblance in your brother here." Meyers noticed the insult and his face changed to hurt. Oscars face got redder. "Yeah, that was an insult…and so is this!" I smirked stole Meyers's hat and started running as fast as I could. I heard all the boys cheer from behind me and taunting the Delancys that were now chasing after me.

Ever since I became a newsie, the Delancys had something against me. And every day they had picked a fight with me. But they had never once beaten me, whether it was in a fist fight or them chasing me. Never not once, had they walked away victorious and I intended upon keeping it that way.

I looked back to see if they were still following me, when I ran into something. "What do you think your doin'?" the thing asked me. The deep voice sounded mad with a slight hint of amusement.

I bit my lip and heard the grunts of the Delancys fighting to make their way past the wall the boys had made. I looked up to see the face of the boy for the first time. He had deep blue eyes and brown curly hair hidden under a hat. He looked like a newsie, but if he was, well I didn't know him. "Umm, sorry bought that but right now," The two boys broke through the wall and bolted straight towards me, right as I dropped Meyers hat, I yelled back to the boy. "I'm runnin'!"

I ran towards Tibbys diner and climbed up to the top of the awning, folding my legs up. Just as the Delancys jumped up on the carriage in front of the diner, I kicked them both square in the jaw. They were finished, passed out on the cold road below. Racetrack came over to help me down from the awning. Then he and Mush carried me over to the gate on their shoulders. Everyone was cheering and whistling. I blew kisses and said thank you to everyone as if I was some royal or something.

They put me down as we entered the gate and the boys made space for me to get in the front of the line.

"Weasel, oh Weasel? Are ya there?" I rang the bell right above his office window. The window "Hey there Weasel, whatcha got for me this fine mornin'?" I grabbed the paper off of his desk and began skimming it. The headline was Trolley Strike Drags on for Third Week. I rolled my eyes and wiped the sweat off of my forehead.

"Um, I have told you a thousand times, Higgins, is Mr. Wiesel. " he said with a scowl. I simply him an innocent smile and put the paper down. "Whatcha want?"

"Give me the usual,"Oscar and Meyers returned to their posts next to Weasel, staring at me with hatred in their eyes. "Have a nice nap fellas?" their scowls matched their uncles. I did nothing but smirk as I had a hundred papes smacked down in front of me. I grabbed them and sat down on the corner waiting for Racetrack to get done. Seconds later Mush sat down beside me and he began reading the front page

"Hey look Caroline, a baby born with two heads! Must be from Brooklyn." He said with a smile on his face. He was laughing when he turned to face me but quickly stopped after he saw my face.

"Watch it Mush, I'm from Brooklyn." I said flat out with a serious face. No one talked bad about Brooklyn, end of story.


	2. The New Kids

**Written while listening to: Love is Dead by Tokio Hotel**

**Chapter 3: Meeting the Jacobs**

"My God, what happened?" Was the first thing I heard as I followed David into his one room apartment.

"Nothing mama, he is just sleeping." David said kissing her cheek and pulling Les off his back. She pulled her baby into her arms lovingly and kissed David back. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I hadn't longed for that feeling of love of a mother for a long time, and it shouldn't be bothering me now. Yet somehow that little concern from his mother, it killed me…

"We had dinner waiting for you." A man with a bushy mustache came up to us, I assumed it was his father. His arm was in a cast but he was smiling. David put the money we had raised today down on the table and his father's jaw dropped. "You earned all this selling papers?"

"Well, half of it is Caroline's." David ushered me in to the room, shutting the door behind me. I quickly took off my hat and flattened my hair down. "Mum, Dad, this is our selling partner, and um, our friend Caroline. Caroline, these are my parents," His father held out his good hand and I looked down at my own, it was filthy. I wiped it quickly on my pants and shook his hand. I gave his mother a soft smile. She turned around and returned the smile after laying Les in the bed. "Oh and that's my sister Sarah."

My eyes moved over to the beautiful brunette sitting in the corner. She was sitting in a rocking chair mending something. She gave a small wave and quickly went back to her mending.

"Ester, maybe Caroline would like to join us for dinner. Why don't you put a little extra water in the soup?" he kissed her cheek and she gently shoved him away, laughing. I couldn't help but smile. They were so happy, and he loved her…it was the family I always had wanted but knew I never could have.

David pulled out a chair and gestured me to sit. I quickly whispered a thank you, and put my head down, feeling a blush arising on my cheeks.

"From what ive seen today, your boys are a couple of born newsies," I explained to his family. Sarah set down the third bowl of soup I had asked for in front of me. I smiled and nodded a thank you, and continued to speak. "I did the numbers and with their hard work and my experience, I figure we can peddle a thousand a week and not even break a sweat."

"Wow, that's quite a few." his father was smiling and he began to stroke his mustache.

"Possibly more when the headline is good." I ran my fingers through my hair, making my loose braids moving even farther apart.

"What makes a good headline?" Sarah asked clearing everyone else's dishes as I ate a little more.

"Oh, um you know catchy words or phrases. You know words like maniac, or um, corpse…um lovenest or nude." Sarah and David laughed and I felt David's parents giving me a strange look. "Excuse me, I think I'm talkin' too much." This time his father laughed.

"Sarah, how about you go get the cake your mother has been hiding in the cupboard." His wife slapped him with a dish towel, and they both chuckled.

"Oh you know very well that is for your birthday tomorrow!"

"I know, I know but this is a true celebration here!" he winked at me, but not in the creepy way. In the fatherly way, the way that made me smile. David, his mother, and Sarah all moved towards the kitchen at once. David getting his father's knife with Sarah getting the plates. My eyes moved towards his mother who pulled out a huge square pan.

"Happy Birthday Papa." Sarah placed the plates down while kissing her father's cheek. He smiled and the sharp pain in my stomach came back. I ran my hand through my hair while Sarah cut the cake, and the pain went away. David handed me a fork as Sarah passed me a big slice of the yellow cake.

"Thanks." I said staring down at the cake. I felt a smile forming on my lips as the cake brushed my lips. The last time I remember having cake was at my twelfth birthday party that Jack Kelley, Manhattan's leader at the time, threw me. I shoved a second bite in my mouth and the sweetness grew.

"You know your smile is very pretty. You should really do it more often." David whispered in my ear. He chuckled when I punched his arm halfheartedly, when we heard a voice coming from behind us.

"Nude corpse….three….found on tracks…read all about it…" Les mumbled in his sleep. David looked at me, and we burst out laughing. The family gave us a confused look and we tried to contain ourselves but we failed miserably. I took another bite of cake just as the big clock rang. I looked up to see that it was almost ten thirty at night.

"Holy moly, is that really the time?" I took the napkin off my lap and threw it on the table. "I has to go! I am so sorry! Thank you very much for your hospitality." I hopped out of my seat and grabbed my hat.

"No problem dear, come whenever you would like. Oh and would you like to bring the cake to your family? I could wrap it up for you." I nodded, the boys would love a cake. His mother finished wrapping the cake and handed it to me with a smile.

"Are you sure you don't just want to stay here? Its pretty dark out and it isn't safe for a girl like yourself to walk alone." his father asked.

"I could walk you home if you don't feel comfortable walking by yourself." David offered.

"I am sure I will be fine but thanks again for everything," I walked out of the house, shutting the door quietly behind me. I ran down the steps and made my way out to the front door of the apartment building. It was darker outside than it was when I had first arrived and the temperature had appeared to drop. The breeze had gotton stronger and it was a bit chilly. It was perfect for the summer though.

As I rolled down my sleeves, I noticed I was alone in the streets, just the way I liked it. Very few lights were lit, which meant I better hurry home, yet my legs would move any quicker than I slow walk. The night was just to pretty, and the stars were all shining. A memory flashed through my head.

"_Oh come on James, do you actually believe it is possible for something to live in the stars?" I asked, while lying on the grass, looking up at the night sky. I was in a night shirt and a pair of pants and the air was cool surrounding me and my friend._

"_Yeah I do believe it Carol Bell." he whispered into my ear. He pulled back and looked back up at the stars. "I believe that is where people go when they die." James said, with a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the sky. _

_I felt him staring at me, and when I turned my head my emerald eyes met his deep blue ones. It was as if that one moment, even though I was only six years old, I made my mind up that I was going to spend the rest of my life with him._

I pulled myself out of the trance. I felt like I was going to cry. Thinking of the old days always made me want to cry. The old days when I still had James, the days I had my mother and the days where I didn't have to worry if I was going to eat that day or if I was going to get out of New York, the days I got to be a kid.

I looked up to see myself facing a giant brick building; I was at the lodging house. Most of the lights were out except for the one in my room, and the boy's room. They were still awake, or they left the lights on for Tumbler, or both. As I made my way up the stairs, I felt some one grab me around my waist.

_Oh my God, maybe I should have had David walk me home!_


	3. Meeting the Jacobs

**Written while listening to: Love is Dead by Tokio Hotel**

**Chapter 3: Meeting the Jacobs**

"My God, what happened?" Was the first thing I heard as I followed David into his one room apartment.

"Nothing mama, he is just sleeping." David said kissing her cheek and pulling Les off his back. She pulled her baby into her arms lovingly and kissed David back. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I hadn't longed for that feeling of love of a mother for a long time, and it shouldn't be bothering me now. Yet somehow that little concern from his mother, it killed me…

"We had dinner waiting for you." A man with a bushy mustache came up to us, I assumed it was his father. His arm was in a cast but he was smiling. David put the money we had raised today down on the table and his father's jaw dropped. "You earned all this selling papers?"

"Well, half of it is Caroline's." David ushered me in to the room, shutting the door behind me. I quickly took off my hat and flattened my hair down. "Mum, Dad, this is our selling partner, and um, our friend Caroline. Caroline, these are my parents," His father held out his good hand and I looked down at my own, it was filthy. I wiped it quickly on my pants and shook his hand. I gave his mother a soft smile. She turned around and returned the smile after laying Les in the bed. "Oh and that's my sister Sarah."

My eyes moved over to the beautiful brunette sitting in the corner. She was sitting in a rocking chair mending something. She gave a small wave and quickly went back to her mending.

"Ester, maybe Caroline would like to join us for dinner. Why don't you put a little extra water in the soup?" he kissed her cheek and she gently shoved him away, laughing. I couldn't help but smile. They were so happy, and he loved her…it was the family I always had wanted but knew I never could have.

David pulled out a chair and gestured me to sit. I quickly whispered a thank you, and put my head down, feeling a blush arising on my cheeks.

"From what ive seen today, your boys are a couple of born newsies," I explained to his family. Sarah set down the third bowl of soup I had asked for in front of me. I smiled and nodded a thank you, and continued to speak. "I did the numbers and with their hard work and my experience, I figure we can peddle a thousand a week and not even break a sweat."

"Wow, that's quite a few." his father was smiling and he began to stroke his mustache.

"Possibly more when the headline is good." I ran my fingers through my hair, making my loose braids moving even farther apart.

"What makes a good headline?" Sarah asked clearing everyone else's dishes as I ate a little more.

"Oh, um you know catchy words or phrases. You know words like maniac, or um, corpse…um lovenest or nude." Sarah and David laughed and I felt David's parents giving me a strange look. "Excuse me, I think I'm talkin' too much." This time his father laughed.

"Sarah, how about you go get the cake your mother has been hiding in the cupboard." His wife slapped him with a dish towel, and they both chuckled.

"Oh you know very well that is for your birthday tomorrow!"

"I know, I know but this is a true celebration here!" he winked at me, but not in the creepy way. In the fatherly way, the way that made me smile. David, his mother, and Sarah all moved towards the kitchen at once. David getting his father's knife with Sarah getting the plates. My eyes moved towards his mother who pulled out a huge square pan.

"Happy Birthday Papa." Sarah placed the plates down while kissing her father's cheek. He smiled and the sharp pain in my stomach came back. I ran my hand through my hair while Sarah cut the cake, and the pain went away. David handed me a fork as Sarah passed me a big slice of the yellow cake.

"Thanks." I said staring down at the cake. I felt a smile forming on my lips as the cake brushed my lips. The last time I remember having cake was at my twelfth birthday party that Jack Kelley, Manhattan's leader at the time, threw me. I shoved a second bite in my mouth and the sweetness grew.

"You know your smile is very pretty. You should really do it more often." David whispered in my ear. He chuckled when I punched his arm halfheartedly, when we heard a voice coming from behind us.

"Nude corpse….three….found on tracks…read all about it…" Les mumbled in his sleep. David looked at me, and we burst out laughing. The family gave us a confused look and we tried to contain ourselves but we failed miserably. I took another bite of cake just as the big clock rang. I looked up to see that it was almost ten thirty at night.

"Holy moly, is that really the time?" I took the napkin off my lap and threw it on the table. "I has to go! I am so sorry! Thank you very much for your hospitality." I hopped out of my seat and grabbed my hat.

"No problem dear, come whenever you would like. Oh and would you like to bring the cake to your family? I could wrap it up for you." I nodded, the boys would love a cake. His mother finished wrapping the cake and handed it to me with a smile.

"Are you sure you don't just want to stay here? Its pretty dark out and it isn't safe for a girl like yourself to walk alone." his father asked.

"I could walk you home if you don't feel comfortable walking by yourself." David offered.

"I am sure I will be fine but thanks again for everything," I walked out of the house, shutting the door quietly behind me. I ran down the steps and made my way out to the front door of the apartment building. It was darker outside than it was when I had first arrived and the temperature had appeared to drop. The breeze had gotton stronger and it was a bit chilly. It was perfect for the summer though.

As I rolled down my sleeves, I noticed I was alone in the streets, just the way I liked it. Very few lights were lit, which meant I better hurry home, yet my legs would move any quicker than I slow walk. The night was just to pretty, and the stars were all shining. A memory flashed through my head.

"_Oh come on James, do you actually live in the stars?" I asked, while lying on the grass, looking up at the night sky. I was in a night shirt and a pair of pants and the air was cool surrounding me and my friend._

"_Yeah I do believe it Carol Bell." he whispered into my ear. He pulled back and looked back up at the stars. "I believe that is where people go when they die." James said, with a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the sky. _

_I felt him staring at me, and when I turned my head my emerald eyes met his deep blue ones. It was as if that one moment, even though I was only six years old, I made my mind up that I was going to spend the rest of my life with him._

I pulled myself out of the trance. I felt like I was going to cry. Thinking of the old days always made me want to cry. The old days when I still had James, the days I had my mother and the days where I didn't have to worry if I was going to eat that day or if I was going to get out of New York, the days I got to be a kid.

I looked up to see myself facing a giant brick building; I was at the lodging house. Most of the lights were out except for the one in my room, and the boy's room. They were still awake, or they left the lights on for Tumbler, or both. As I made my way up the stairs, I felt some one grab me around my waist.

_Oh my God, maybe I should have had David walk me home!_


	4. Bonding Time

_**Okay, so the lullaby in this chapter is Romanian, my mother used to sing it to me whenever I couldn't sleep.(: The English lyrics are below! Also, the dream sequence is a little intense, so if you have issues with abuse, just skip over it. Thank you!**_

**Written while listening to: Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman**

**Chapter 4: Bonding Time**

_Oh my God, maybe I should have had David walk me home!_

"Give me all your money toots." A sharp voice whispered in my ear. His breath had a slight tint of cigar and he had a thick accent. I smirked as I got my elbow free and elbowed the man in the gut. "Jesus Caroline!" Now that I thought about it…I knew that voice. I turned around to see Racetrack doubled over in pain.

"And how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?" I wrapped my arm around the crouching boy, he groaned. "Sorry kid, if I would've known it was you, I wouldn't have hit ya…" I rubbed his back, a smirk crossing my lips, "as hard." After a few moments he stood up straight and smiled.

"Well, I'm just happy you didn't aim a little lower." I laughed and he rubbed his stomach. We headed up the stairs and in the door.

"So how did it go today?" I asked. "I mean at the races."

"Oh," he paused, the smile leaving his face. "Um well you know that hot filly I told you about?" I nodded, knowing what he was about to say. He had lost everything. "Yeah, no one told the horse."

"Anthony!" I groaned as we climbed up the steps to the upstairs level. He looked down at his feet in sorrow. Suddenly my stomach felt uneasy, looking at his face. I put my arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick squeeze. "You know, I think we should get you some help with your gambling issue. Maybe you should lay off for a little while so we don't go completely broke." I said jokingly. He looked up and smiled.

"So you wanna play poker? Mush got a new deck that I am gonna try to win off of him, and I could use me partner." he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"And what did I just about gambling?" we laughed. "But I actually think I am going to hit the sack." he shrugged. We said good night to each other with a hug and he kissed the top of my head like he did every night. Then we went our separate ways, I going to my room and him going to play poker with the rest of the boys.

I usually played with them but I didn't feel up to it tonight. It was a long day and nothing looked lovelier than my bed. I stepped into my room, it was lit by a single gas lamp that Kloppman gave me when I developed my fear of the dark when I was thirteen_. _My window was open; Kloppman must have known it was going to be cool tonight. He always opened my window when it was cold out because my room got so hot sometimes I could barely stand it. I put a mental note to thank him in the morning.

I unbuttoned my shirt and pulled my night gown over my head. That was only dress I would probably ever own. It wasn't because I didn't like them but I couldn't afford one. I didn't have the extra money to buy nice dress, makeup or new shoes. I mostly took Racetracks hand-me-downs, which he got from other kids that were bigger than him. Lately though, he had been growing like a weed so it had been harder to find clothes for him.

After I had my night gown on, I snuck over to the washroom. I brushed my hair and washed my face. When I looked up at myself in the mirror, I found myself staring at my reflection. I realized that I looked nothing like my mom as I always hoped. She had beautiful brown eyes and black wavy hair, while I had chestnut curly hair and emerald eyes. My eyes were everybody's favorite thing about me, I hated them. They were my father's eyes. Memories flowed through again but I pushed them away and began fighting back tears I looked away, and left the room.

Once I got back into my room, I immediately went to my bed. It was warm and welcoming, even if the sheets were scratchy and the bed was rock hard. I rested my head on the pillow and shut my eyes. I began counting backwards from a hundred. It was a method my mother taught me whenever I wanted to go to bed fast. Within a few moments, I was dreaming.

"_Come here you little rat! I'm not finished with you yet!" I heard a voice scream from behind the door. My back was against the opposite wall and tears were rolling down my cheeks. He was pounding and yelling as loud as he could. _

_My muscles ached from being thrown against the wall and him pinning me to the ground. I could feel a bruise forming on my cheek and back. Suddenly the door flew open. My father stepped towards me with a bottle of brandy in his hand. He smiled at me and I whimpered as he took a sip out of the bottle._

"_Are you crying?" he got closer to me and reached down and touched the upper part of my thigh. "It's not good to cry honey. Don't worry baby, daddy will make it all better." he moved his hand up higher and then up to my chest. I looked down and grabbed it. I bit down hard on his fingers. He screamed in pain and hit me across the face._

"_Leave her alone!" My mother said from the doorway. He spun around with a snicker, and headed into the other room. I heard her screams and the sound of a bottle breaking. I went over to my little brothers crib to make sure he was okay. He let out a small cry but I put my hand over his mouth. I grabbed him and hid him under my bed._

"_You have to be quiet Anthony." I whispered. The toddler nodded his head, and covered his mouth with his hand. "I'll be right back, I promise." I ran out of the room and saw my father punching my mother in the jaw causing her to pass out cold._

_My jaw was quivering with fright and I felt tears stain my face. My father stood up and faced me. He walked clumsily towards me. I stood there clenching my fists and closing my eyes, knowing I couldn't run. He wrapped his hand around my neck and lifted me off the ground. I felt myself gasping for air but it wasn't coming to me. Then suddenly everything went black._

"Caroline, get up!" I woke up gasping for air. Racetrack stood over me shaking me rapidly. He stopped when my eyes opened, and he wiped the sweat off of my forehead. My throat was sore and I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.

I curled up in his arms as he brushed my hair back. "You were just having a nightmare. It's okay, it's okay." He was stroking my hair and rocking me back and forth. It was pitch black out. "Can I get you anything?" I shook my head no. I was still shaking rapidly. He held me tighter.

"Do you 'member mama's song? The one she used to sing to us when we couldn't sleep?" I asked in a small voice. He nodded. "Can you sing it for me?" he smiled and let the words flow from his mouth.

_Nani, nani, puiul mamii, _

_Nani, nani, puiul mamii _

_Culcă-mi-te mititel _

_Şi te scoală măricel._

_Să te duci cu oile _

_Pe câmpul cu florile._

_Să te duci cu bobocei _

_Pe câmpul cu ghiocei._

_Să te duci cu mieluşei _

_Pe câmpul cu brebenei_

Immediately after he sang it, I felt my body stop shaking and I felt safe again. It made me feel as if my mother was holding me. I snuggled closer to Race's chest. He smelled like cigars, which I didn't mind even though I hated smoking with a passion. It was his smell, and somehow, it relaxed me. He shifted and tried to lay my back down on my bed but I clung onto his shirt.

"Stay here, please? I don't wanna be alone." I whispered like a small child. He kissed my forehead and nodded. "Thank you…" I whispered. He continued to rock me back and forth. Soon I was in a dreamless sleep.

I woke up the next morning before the sun was even up but I knew it was close to morning. I was sleeping somewhere different then when I actually fell asleep. Instead of being in Race's lap, I was under my sheets with my head resting on my pillow. Looking around the room, I found nothing that was out of the ordinary until I looked down on the left side of the bed. There he was, his head resting on his arm and curled up in a ball. He appeared to be shaking.

"Thank you Anthony." I whispered in my quietest voice as climbed out of my bed. I took off my sheet and layed it on top of him. Then I bent down and kissed his temple and he seemed to stop shaking.

I tip-toed around him and figured it was early enough none of the boys would be awake. It was time to take my bath. I grabbed a pale pink blouse and a pair of black suspenders and my pants. As I made my way to the washroom after I stopped at the linen closet that held all of our towels and other things for cleaning. I grabbed a bar of soap and a white towel.

Once I was in the in the washroom, I locked the door, and started pumping the water into my bath. I filled the tub half way, knowing if I did any more, that when I stepped in it would flood the room. I took off my night gown and hopped into the tub. It was cold, what I would give for some boiling water at this point. I began washing myself and a few moments later I washed my hair.

When I was done with that I wrapped the towel around me and headed over to the mirror were I brushed my teeth. I then put my hair into a loose ponytail, tying it back with a blue ribbon Race got me for my ninth birthday. I looked out the window and noticed the sun was coming up. I ran out of the washroom, past all of the sleeping boys and into my room. I bolted out my window and up the fire escape, to the roof.

"Whoa Caroline, where's the fire?" a familiar voice said.

I stepped closer to where the figure was sitting and realized it was Racetrack. I was running so fast I didn't even notice he wasn't on my floor any more. He patted the ledge next to him, and I sat down. We sat as silence as we watched the sun come up slowly. "Makes ya dink of when we still had Mama. She used to wake us up at the crack of dawn just to make us watch the sun rise with her." he whispered.

I looked at him and I saw a tear fall down his cheek. He had never cried, at least not that I had seen. I slid my hand over to his and gave it a squeeze. "I just miss her so much Caroline."

"I know… I miss her a lot too." This time I felt tears slid down my cheeks. We were quiet again, our hands still one on top of the other, crying. It felt weird crying with him. He didn't even cry when mama died. He just got quiet, he didn't talk for a long time after we got here. All the newsies thought he was a mute.

"Do ya dink she would be proud of us?" he asked suddenly. I gave him a confused look. "I mean tryin' to make somethin' of ourselves. Makin' our own money and tryin' to get to Santa Fe. She wanted us to get there so badly after all."

I smiled. _Maybe she would be proud of us_. I had never thought of it that way. I turned my head towards him. He was smiling, yet tears were still rolling down his cheeks. "Yeah Race, I think she would be proud of us." His smile grew as he put his arm around my shoulder and I gently rested my head on his shoulder. We sat there until the sun was fully up and it was time to start the day.

Nani, nani, your mother's little baby

Nani, nani, your mother's little baby

Tiny baby of thy mother

I wish you be strong

Nani, nani, your mother's little baby

Nani, nani, your mother's little baby

Cute and strong

Proud as a young oak

Nani, nani, your mother's little baby

Nani, nani, your mother's little baby

Baby of thy mother, tiny baby

Sleep my baby, peacefully sleep


	5. Let the Games Begin

**Firefly: thank you so much for everything you have done for me!:) and for the lovely reviews.**

**Disclamier: I dont own Newsies. I do own Caroline and Stick.**

**Chapter 5: Let the Games Begin.**

Racetrack and I left lodging house later than everyone else. I told them to go along and get there papers to start the day and I would be along eventually. We walked slowly talking about old memories and laughing about how ridiculous we were as children. By the time we got the gate, we were laughing so hard that we were crying.

"Caroline! They're tryin' to cheat us!" Mush was screaming as I stepped into the gate.

"Huh?" It was all I could manage to say. I was so confused.

"They jacked up the price! You hear that? Ten cents a hundred! You know, it's bad enough that we gotta eat what we don't sell, now they jack up the price! Can you believe that?" Blink said. He lit a cigarette, and placed it in his mouth.

"Whoa, it doesn't make any sense!" I said.

"Caroline, I don't wanna be out on the streets 'gain!" Boots yelled.

"No you're not sweetheart." I wrapped him up in my arms and squeezed him. "Lemme go talk to him." I made my way up the ramp. "Why the jack up Weasel? Youse know wese can't afford it!"

"Do I look like I care?" he said pointing at his face. "PLUS it's a nice day." The Delancys and Weasel all laughed as I walked down the steps and sat next to Blink and Mush. We all sat there in silence.

"They can't do this to me. . ." Blink whispered, it was barely audible, as if he was saying it to himself. I rubbed his back.

"It's their stinkin' paper, they can do whatever the hell they want!" Race yelled. His good mood that he was in, was now gone, darn it. All the boys were looking at him, Blink looked as if he was about to cry. "Sorry Blink." Blink nodded taking in the apology.

"Listen Caroline, maybe we should just go gets some lousy papes while they still have some." Mush tried making his way up the steps but we all stopped him.

"No, no one is goin' to buy any papes until I think 'bout this." I took off my hat and rubbed back my hair.

"Clear out, give her room, she needs to think!" I heard Les yell at the boys. Blink handed me the cigarette, and I took it and took a long puff. It tasted foul, see I usually don't smoke and now, I remember why.

"You done thinking' yet Caroline?" Racetrack asked with his unlit cigar in his mouth. I gave him a _shut-the-hell- up_ glare.

"Hey," Weasels voice squealed through the window that was above us. "World employees only on this side of the gate." He cackled as we all rolled our eyes and groaned _shut up at him._

"Whadda we gonna do Caroline? Most of us are gonna starve." Tumbler squeaked out with tear emerging in his eyes. My heart broke just looking at him. I wrapped him up in my arms and rocked him back and forth.

"Well one thing is for sure, none of us are going to starve. And if we don't sell papes then no one sells papes." I finally found the words I wanted to say. "No one goes through the gates and buys the papes until the price is back where it belongs."

"Whadda mean?" Mush asked.

"You mean like a strike." David said nonchalantly. Almost like he didn't mean it, and suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

"A strike, yeah Davey that's an amazing idea!" I put Tumbler down, and the boys looked at me if I was crazy. "What, it's a good idea!"

David grabbed my shoulder and pulled me over to the side. "I hope you know I was just joking. We can't go on strike, were not a union!"

"Well what if we get all of the newsies in New York? And we all band together, and if we go on strike then we are a union right?" I asked heading back towards the boys. David followed me mutter things that I couldn't understand. "Crutch take for collections, we need to get all of the boys around New York!" Crutchy smiled and took off his hat and started asking around for money.

David rolled his eyes. In case he hasn't noticed…but I am very persistent. "Caroline this isn't a joke!"

"I thought youse _just_ said you were jokin'?" I smirked and I gave him a wink. He looked as if he was about to pull his hair out. "Alright, listen Dave is right. The big shots Pulitzer and Hearst and all the udder rich fellas, they think they own this town. So they won't think that a bunch of street rat kids can take them on! So I'm leavin' it up to you fellas, what's it gonna be? Youse gonna take what they give us or youse gonna strike?"

The boys scratched their heads, they looked nervous. They were all mumbling words I couldn't understand. Okay, people need to stop mumbling, it makes me nervous.

"STRIKE!" Les yelled from beside me. David quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late he started something. The boys were all now into the idea of striking, which made me smile even bigger.

"Tells us what to do Caroline!" Boots yelled from the front. I bit my lip, and wiped my hands together. David snickered, as I turned to face him.

"It was your idea Dave, whadda we do now?" I asked. He was hesitant, but then he opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, Pulitzer and Hearst have to respect our rights. And also they can't treat us like we don't exist." I repeated the words he said to the crowd. They all cheered. "We are a union now Caroline! We all have to stick together like the trolley workers!"

I once again repeated this to the boys, and they cheered again, except for Boots, who looked like he was thinking. "Caroline," he started. "What will happen if someone sells our papes?"

"Yeah some don't hear so good!" Race yelled moving his way up to stand by Boots.

"Well then, we'll do what wese are good at," most of the boys looked confused. "We'll soak 'em!" at this they really cheered. Ah my boys, enjoying the pain of others, how kind.

"No, no, no! That'll give us a bad name!" David said trying to calm the boys down, but failed massively. They were too rallied up, which was good for the strike.

"Can't get any worse Davey!" Crutchy spoke to David, resting his arm over his shoulder. "We are the poorest of the poor and not to mention most of us don't got families." David's face changed, it now looked almost sympathetic. I turned my head away and faced back towards the boys. I climbed up on the statue that lied behind me.

"What is it gonna take to stop the scabbers! Are you ready?" they boys cheered loudly. My smile kept getting bigger and bigger. "Huh, when the circulation bell starts ringing will we hear it?"

"NO!" the crowd screamed in unison. David at this point was smiling, good he is coming along with this!

"What if the Delancys come out swingin' will we hear it?" they once again replied with the cheerful _NO. "_That's good cause we got to get the news out to all the boys in New York!" I hopped down off the statue and grabbed David's wrist and dragged him with me. We made our way through the crowd up to the distributing center that was next to Pulitzer's office building. "To get the word out I need some of those…of those..." I looked to David.

"Ambassadors?" David asked

"Yeah," I thought for a second. "Alright youse guys need to be ambastards," the boys chuckled and David rolled his eyes. He seems to do that a lot. "And youse need to goes around and tell the boys were goin' on strike."

"Hey Caroline, I got Harlem." Blink spoke out first heading up towards Harlem grabbing Stick's shirt, dragging him along.

"I got Midtown." Racetrack said turning away. I cleared my throat. "I won't gamble sis." I smiled while the boys laughed at him, and I let him go.

"I'll take the Battery." Mush said next grabbing a couple boys.

The boys all claimed their places, but most I had to assign. I assigned Pie Eater and Snoddy to the East Side knowing they had family there, and Snipeshooter tagged along. Next was Queens which went to Specs, Skittery, and Bumlets.

"Alright now, who wants Brooklyn?" all the boys tried there hardest not to make eye. I can't believe it… my boys are scared of Brooklyn. "Oh come on its Spot Conlons territory." I heard winces from the crowd. "Ahh my boys are scared of Brooklyn!"

"We aint scared of Brooklyn!" Boots yelled from beside me. I gave him a look that said _I'm-so-sure._ "Its just Spot Conlon, well he makes us a little nervous."

I laughed. This was the funniest thing I had ever heard. My Spot, dangerous? Well, I admit, he could be a little intimidating. But still he was only five foot seven, only three inches taller than me. "Well he don't make me nervous. I'll take Brooklyn, that is if Boots and Davey come with me to keep me company." I got butterflies in my stomach. I'm going to Brooklyn to see Spot. This brought a huge smile to my face.

"Hey I'll go to Brooklyn the minute you bring our demands to Pulitzer." David said with a smirk. My smile drooped into a concerned face.

"Me…to Pulitzer?" I asked.

"You're the leader, Caroline."

I paced for a second, pondering the idea of the strike_. Ah maybe we could be okay with the extra raise on the papes. Wait, what the bloody sam heck am I thinking! I can't let the boys down, not after they believe in this. _"Well maybe if I take the kid, it will soften him up!" I tugged on Les's shirt, and dragged him in the doors with me.

The building had many windows in it, letting a lot of light through. Beneath our feet was a velvet rug that stretched the entire length of the hallway.

"Wow," Me and Les said in unison. We looked all around as we walked down the hallway until we ran into a very skinny man.

"H-how may I h-help you?" he said stuttering through the sentence. His voice was very high pitched for a man, sounding like a major scab.

"I wanna see Pulitzer now." I stated with a smirk.

"D-do you h-have an appointment?" Les looked up at me, but I kept looking straight forward.

"No, but listen if you tell him that Caroline Higgins is here to see him now. I'm sure he'll get the pictcha." I stated flatly. Next thing I knew I was grabbed by two extremely large bulls, and I was thrown back out on the street.

"So, how did it go?" David asked, leaning against the pillar of the building. He was the only one there, the rest of the boys must have gone home. However, there was another older man with him. He was in a nice brown suit and had a kind smile. Oh fantastic, a sales man. "Oh Caroline this is Bryan Denton. He is a reporter who wants to cover the strike. And Mr. Denton, this is the leader Caroline Higgins."

I quickly got up from the ground, and I wiped off my hands on my pants. I shook his hand and smiled.

"He offered to take us to lunch, to take information." I nodded quickly, leading them to Tibbys. I'm not usually comfortable with adults, but hey if it gets me a free meal, I'm good with it. We quickly ordered and ate. Then we talked about why Les and I were thrown out, how we were getting all the newsies involved and many other things. The clock hit noon, and Denton said he had to leave.

"So I'm really gonna be in the paper?" I asked, as he stood up putting on his coat and hat.

"Of course, any objections?" he said with a smile.

"As long as you get the name right, and only use my first name. Just Caroline, no Higgins." He chuckled, and made his way to the door. "Oh and Denton?" he turned around. "No pictures."

"Anything you say."


	6. Welcome Home

**Hello my dears! I hope you are having a great start of the weekend, and here is the next chapter!:) **

**Disclaimer:…*sob* I don't own them…**

_**Chapter 6: Welcome Home**_

"I never knew Brooklyn was so far away!" David yelled from about eight feet behind me. I just rolled my eyes and continued walking. Boots had managed to keep up with me, barely though, he was practically running. I was moving rather quickly, knowing exactly where I was going. Each step we took, the butterflies in my stomach grew bigger and fluttered faster. "CAROLINE!" I turned around, still walking quickly. "Are we almost there?" he groaned again.

"Yeah, that's da bridge over der!" Boots answered for me. My smile grew, I was almost home.

**Spots P.O.V**

I sat comfortably up on my thrown on the top of the highest part of the dock. The boys would come here after selling, to swim, talk, flirt with the ladies, or play with marbles. It was our own little slice of heaven. I tried to get the boys something decent, they deserved it.

"SPOT! SPOT!" a shrill young voice squeaked. I immediately knew it was my runner and youngest newsie, Breeze. He was running from the end of the dock, screaming at the top of his lounges.

"Heya Breeze, calms youseself. You're gonna hurts youseself kid. What's goin' on?" I asked hopping down from my chair. I led him to a small bench that we had and had him sit down.

"Y-yyy." He sputtered threw gasping for air.

"Breeze, shut up." He needed to catch his breath. He took in a deep breathe in and let it out. Jesus, did this kid run from 'hattan or somthin'?

"Youse… youse told mes' to tell ya when a goil came 'round..." I nodded and smirked. "Well, 'hattans leaders comin'!"

The once rowdy dock was completely and utterly silent. All the boys were looking in my direction. My smirk fell, and I stopped nodding my head. _Could it really be her,_ _C-Caroline? But she hasn't been home in eight years._

"When?" that was all I could spit out, my throat was dry.

**Caroline's P.O.V **

"I've never been to Brooklyn before." David said as soon as we got on the bridge.

"I can tell," I said twirling around to face him with a smirk on my face.

"Yeah I spent a month there one night." We all three looked at each other and burst out laughing. Boot and I put our heads over the side of the rail of the bridge, yelling down, the calling call from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

"So, um, this Spot Conlon, is he really dangerous?" Boots laughed at David's comment. I just smirked.

"Not while I'm 'round." My smirk got even bigger when I winked at David and walked down towards the news boy's pier. _Huh? wonder why i havent been home till now?_

"_Hello_ _beautiful_, why don't you come meets a real man?" Three drunken men called from a nearby bar. _Oh yeah that's why, all the guys are perverts or drunks._ I didn't have time to pick a fight, I was going to see some one way more important. We put our heads down as we passed them, minding our own business. Within a few minutes we were at the docks. A smile came across my face, when the familiar smell of lake water and sweat filled the air.

We stepped on the dock and immediately I was greeted with smiles, hellos and many, many hugs. All the boys that hugged me were around my age, the boys I had grown up with, my original family. The younger ones were smiling, and here were a few I recognized. Like Breeze, whose face was very flush, like he had been running again.

"Goin' somewhere, Higgins?" Flame asked as walked by him. The red-headed boy reminded me much of Skittery, always in a glum and sour mood, however he had always hated me.

"Yeah, actually." I smirked as I pushed him out of the way. I guess I pushed him a little too hard because the next thing I heard was a splash and laughter. Oops, well he needed to cool off.

"Well, well, well," my heart skipped a beat at the thick Brooklyn accent. "If it isn't the one and only Carol Bell, standin' right before me, in da flesh."

I smiled at my ridiculous nickname that I have had since I was four. "Well you certainly moved up in the world Spotty boy, got this whole river view and everythin'." Spot chuckled as he climbed down from his "thrown". I spat in my hand and held it out for him to shake, but he just looked at it if it was poison.

"Okay, really? It hasn't been dat long." I rolled my eyes as he picked me up and twirled me around. I couldn't help but laugh, his arms fit perfectly around me. He put me down and I turned to David, who looked very confused. Before I could introduce him, Spot was already making his way over to Boots.

"Heya Boots, how's it rollin' kid?" he spat shook Boots hand.

"I got some good shooters for ya." Spots eyes got huge when Boots held out a handful of marbles. Spot winked at me as he held out an extra slingshot.

"You still think you're a good shot?" I snatched the slingshot from his hand smiling. "So, Caroline," he stretched back the elastic on his slingshot, taking his aim. "A little boirdy had been churpin' in my ear." He shot the marble up at a bottle on a high ledge, he missed by a centimeter. His lip twitched a little, upset he missed. "From the Bronx and Harlem, that Caroline's newsies are playin' like there goin' on strike."

I took my aim, and released. The bottle shattered into a million pieces, from the corner of my eye, Spots jaw dropped but only for a second.

"Yeah but we aint playin'." David spoke out for the first time since we got there. Spot sort of chuckled to himself and stepped towards him, smirking. _God I forgot how much I loved that smirk._

"Yeah, yeah? What is Caroline, a walkin' mouth?" he nodded towards me, not leaving his eye contact with David.

"Yeah, yet he is a mouth with a brain. And if you have half of one, I think you should listen to him." Spot licked his lips, and sat down on a small bench, getting ready to listen to my newsie speak.

**Spots P.O.V**

_Holy moly she looks beautiful. Oh lord Spot, you bonehead, it has been like what? A year, maybe a couple of months? Yeah that seems about right. Oh wait that kid is speaking, crap._

"Yeah, um," Mouth said nervously. "Well we started the strike, however, we know that we can't do it alone. That's why we came here, and that's why everyone else went all over New York, to gather up the news boys in New York. "

"So I have been told…" I rested my chin in my hand. I grabbed a cigarette from my pocket and was about to light it, then I remembered Caroline was here. I promised her I would quit, just never got to it. "But what do they tell ya?" I threw my cigarette out of the way and saw her smile a little.

I saw Mouth bit his lip, kid must be really nervous. "Well, that's just it. They're waiting to see what Spot Conlon is doing, you're the key to this all. They all know that you Spot, are the most famous and the most powerful newsie in all of New York." The kid is good, flattery goes a long way in my book. I heard Caroline chuckle from the other side of David on the other bench. "So that's why you have to join. You gotta, cause we'll be unstoppable!"

I smirked as I stood up, Caroline stood up at the same time. Her hat was in her hand, and she was biting her lip. _Wow, I forgot how she looked when she was nervous. It was actually cute._ I walked over to Mouth with my cane in hand. "Your right, hes got brains. But I gots brains to, and a lot more than just half." I looked the kid straight in the eye, he was a lot taller than I thought he was. Suddenly an idea popped into my head.

"How do I know your punk boys won't run the first time some goon or bull comes runnin' at them with a club?" I was now directing this toward Caroline, and I broke the eye contact with Mouth.

"How do I know you have what it takes?" I said once more.

"Cause I'm tellin' ya Spot." She spoke for the first time since Mouth took the stage. Her hat was now on her head and her arms crossed. She was pissed. Good, I need her alone, just for five minutes at least.

"Yeah well that isn't good enough. Your boys have to prove it to me" I asserted into the conversation. Oh how I enjoyed pushing her buttons. I stepped towards Caroline.

"We will James," Oh yeah she was very pissed, using my real name instead of my newsie name. She was in my face, with a very disappointed smirk on her face. "You can count on that." The boys sang out ooo's as Caroline whipped around grabbing Mouth and Boots, and began heading off the dock.

"Caroline, wait a minute will you?" I yelled to her, grabbing her wrist twisting her to face me. "We need to talk." I whispered. All she did was roll her eyes.

"Go on you two, I know my way home." The two boys obeyed, and walked away. She pulled her wrist out of my hand and made her way to the end of the dock. Our spot…she still remembered. I sat down next to her, and we sat in silence for what seemed forever. "I can do this with or without your help. It will just be easier with."

"I know, but I know your boys and…"

"You don't know them like I do." She snapped at me, not taking her eyes off of the river. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. It had been a year or two at the least, since I visited her in Manhattan. Even then though, I didn't have a chance to be with her. So many questions that I had wanted to ask her came racing through my head, but I couldn't get them out. "And I believe in them." She got on her feet ready to leave, but I pulled her back.

"Stay, please." I begged. Yes that's right, I begged…but it worked. I saw the corner of her mouth curl up.

She sat back down and took her hat off. Her curly hair fell down out of her hat perfectly. It looked soft, and beautiful, how it had looked since we were kids. Suddenly, I remembered something funny from when we were kids. I laughed. "What?" she asked.

"Ha, I was just thinking of when we was little and we would see who could grow their hair longer." She smiled. Her face brightened, her eyes were now the beautiful emerald color instead of the dark kelp green that didn't fit her.

"Oh yeah, that was the time you thought you were a goil!" Now she was the one laughing, her beautiful laugh. That was what I had been craving all those years, to hear her laugh. She hadn't laughed whenever her father was around, and since she had to become a newsie, she hadn't truly laughed. I saw her wipe tears from her eyes and smile. "Well then I see I won that fight."

"Good thin', cause I defiantly aint no goil."

"What's wrong with bein' a goil?"

"Oh nothin' at all, toots." I answered sarcastically, smirking while I did it. She punched my arm lightly, and smirked, the same smirk I did. We used to have these types if moments all the time. However that was when she lived here.

_**Caroline's P.O.V.**_

I was having fun. Like real fun. Now I remember why I have always hung out with Spot, he made me laugh, made me forget problems, made me forget the real world. When we hung out, it was just me and him.

"Can I tell ya somethin'?" Spot suddenly said. I nodded looking out past the river. "When I found out youse guys were startin' a strike, I was excited."

"Why?" I asked, not taking my eyes of off the river. He was confusing me now, maybe it was because he liked the violence…

"Cause I knew there was a chance I might get to see you again." My bangs fell in front of my face as I looked towards him. He was half smiling, half smirking, his own eyes looking into mine. _Those beautiful blue eyes._ "Turns out, I did. I missed you Caroline. A lot." He wiped my bangs out of my eyes, caressing my cheek.

I had missed him to so very much, but we couldn't talk about this here. Not now with all the boys on the dock. This was too much too fast. "Spot, not here." I whispered. He nodded and bit his lip the same way I did. Amazing that you are with a person so much you pick up their habits. "I gotta go," I stood up. "The suns gonna be settin' soon, and I wanna be off the streets before dark."

"I could walk you home or you could stay here tonight." I shook my head, knowing he would walk me back to our old apartment instead of the lodging house. And I couldn't stay here without the boys knowing, they would freak. "Alright, but as long as people don't know you're a goil. I don't feel safe when you walk home alone." I put my hat on my head, stuffing my hair up in it. We said our good byes and I turned to leave. "Caroline?"

When I turned around, right before he spoke, something caught my eye and I smiled.

He still wears it.

"Tell your mudder I said hello." My smile fell and I slowly nodded my head and quickly turned around and made my way home.


	7. Poker Night

**Happy Thanksgiving!:) please read and review.**

**Chapter 7: Poker Night.**

_He still doesn't know…but didn't you want it that way? Maybe it should stay that way. _I thought the whole walk home. My eyes felt watery, but I quickly swiped the tears away. The sun was low in the sky, it was probably around six or seven…good thing it was summer. _He looked so happy, must be another girl. _I quickly shook the thought of my…well I'm not really sure what he is…with another girl.

"Come on Caroline…" I mumbled to myself. "He just said he missed you, that he wanted to see you." I took off my hat, making all my hair fall down past my chest. I ruffled it and carefully placed my hat on my head, not bothering to put it back up. I was out of Brooklyn so I was safer as a girl in Manhattan. _He wants you to be safe. And he was still wearing his charm. _Instinctively my hand went up to my necklace. I pulled out the small half of a gold locket out of my shirt. It was on a piece of thin rope and Spot had the other piece. We found the locket one day when we were younger, so we decided it should belong to both of us.

I held it in my hand until I reached the lodging house, then I stuffed it in my shirt, hiding it from the boys. When I walked in the door the boys went silent. They made a path for me as I made my way up to my bed room on the second floor, all staring at me. At the top step, I turned around to face them. "Off to bed now you younger ones, I'll tell you all the details in the mornin'."

I turned on my heels and headed down the hallway towards my room. I heard the boys mumble to one another as I opened my door and slammed it behind me. However not before I heard Mush say, "What if she didn't get Spot, were screwed if not." Seconds later I found myself walking back out of my room, I realized I wasn't tired. Shocking considering I had walk over sixteen miles today.

I looked down the steps seeing that that the boy's room light was on. _Their playing poker, _an evil smirk crept up on my face. I was in the mood to win, plus I was feeling rather lucky.

"Heya sissy!" Race said more than over sarcastically, as he looked over his hand of cards. The rest of the boys waved and I smirked, nodding towards the gestures. I noticed that Racetrack had about five dollars lying in front of him, wonder how much he won at the race today.

"Deal me in." I announced to the room. Race looked disappointed as he handed in his hand of cards back to Mush, who shuffled them again. I took my seat next to Race and Blink, my usual spot.

"So Caroline, how did it go? I mean after Spot pulled you over _alone _to talk." Boots spoke through a cigarette. He was leaning back in his chair with his feet up against the table.

"Yeahs Bell, how did that one on one _talking _go?" Race snickered from beside me. I kicked him hard under the table, he whimpered as the corner of my lips curled up into a smile.

"It went well, but he said you fellas aren't very serious about stuff, so ya'll have to prove it to him." Mush dealt out five cards to all of the boys with a nervous look on his face. They all looked nervous. "What's with the faces fellas, you have even looked at your hands yet." They all looked from one another, every one of them biting their lips. "Someone gonna answer me?" I picked up my hand of cards and smiled on the inside.

"Well Caroline," Mush was the first to speak. "The fellas and I have been talkin', and well what if we don't get Spot and Brooklyn? What will we do then? There just…isn't enough of us."

"I mean we are pretty much pathetic without Brooklyn." Skittery said nonchalantly.

"Maybe we should just wait…we aint ready…" Race said like a small child.

"Okay that is enough!" I slammed my hands against the table, standing up from my stool. I walked away and began pacing the room. "Maybe Spot is right, maybe you all are scared! Maybe all of you are too immature…"

"That's cutting the line." Skittery cut me off.

"Yeah, well, only immature people say they're going to do something, and they never do." I shouted. The boys all looked down at the table except for Racetrack, who was looking me straight in the eyes. "Listen fellas," I walked back over and sat down. "I didn't mean to yell, it's just…"

"Nah Caroline, youse were right." Racetrack said, resting his hand on mine, giving it a small squeeze.

"Yeah, we just get a little nervous sometimes." Mush said, giving me his signature smile. "We can do this."

The rest of the boys lifted their heads and smiled. They all were ready to give their support. Let the games begin Pulitzer. "Alright who ready to play some poker?" I picked up my hand, as did the rest of the boys. The game continued for about an hour, until finally, I got the hand I needed.

"Alright, last minute bets now, then it's off to bed boys." Kloppman said from the doorway, I shot a glance over at him. "That means you to Caroline." I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Ready to get your butts whipped fellas." Racetrack laid down his hand. "Full house boys!" Everyone except for me threw down their hand in disgust as they groaned. "Thank you," he said as he started collecting his winnings which was everything all the boys had put in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa what are you doin'?" I asked smirking. Races face immediately fell from a smile to a frown. "I haven't put my hand down yet." I laid down my hand, as the rest of the boys snickered. "A royal flush my dear Toni. You may now bow down to the queen." Mush, Skittery, Blink and Boots all laughed as Racetrack fell into his chair and began to fake cry.

"How do you do that?" he screamed.

I shrugged. "Just lucky I guess." I laughed a bit as I began to count my winnings. _Eight bucks, not bad._ "Well good night fellas." I wiggled my fingers and kissed Racetracks head lovingly. When I walked out of the room I heard the boys laugh and then grunts. He must've hit them, I have taught him well.

Once I was in my room, I put my winnings in the drawer. They were going back into the boys stashes once they were asleep. I can't keep their money, it would just be wrong. I stopped when I saw something I had forgotten all about, a letter.

_To my precious daughter,_

_Several years ago I got down on my knees and prayed to our Heavenly Father for the most wonderful gift, a child. By His grace, He gave me you, my precious little one. I have loved you deeply since I knew you were growing inside of me. You have given me so much joy. I have cherished each of your smiles and have comforted all of your tears. I am so very proud of the beautiful young woman you have become. You are just as lovely on the inside as you are on the outside._

_My darling, I am writing you this letter to tell you that I will always be here for you. As you grow up and move away little one you must never forget that we are one with each other. Whenever you need someone, just reach out to me. Whatever I am doing I will drop it so I can be there for you._

_My wish for your life is that you grow into a beautiful young lady. That you have much happiness in everything you do._

_I love you with all my heart,_

_Mommy_

She had given that to me just weeks before she died. I didn't read it till she did pass. Inside she had five dollars and her butterfly hair pin. I pulled out the pin, fingering it lovingly. The butterfly was silver with green and blue stones in its wings, while its body was made out of small pearls. I pushed away a tuft of my hair and put the clip in. _Knock knock. _I quickly shoved the letter and the pin into the drawer.

"Come in!" I yelled, running over to my chest to grab my night gown. Wiping tears that had emerged from my cheeks.

"Just me," Mush smirked.

"Oh, hey Mush, how may I help you my dear?" I put my night gown down on my bed and sat down.

"Nothin' really, just wanted to say congrats. And also, that, well…"

"What?"

"I just wanna know somethin'."

"And that would be?" I asked.

"How do you win every stinkin' game of poker you play?" I laughed and so did he.

"Well, a good playa, never reveals there secrets." I winked.


	8. Seize the Day

Hey everyone sorry it took so long, school has been a pain in the rear! Well please enjoy, and review.

_**Chapter 8: Seize the Day.**_

The next morning the boys and I got ready quickly and made our way to the distributing center to meet David and Les. When we got there, they were already waiting. Les was playing with a small wooden sword, while David was watching carefully.

"Heya Davey, I see you got home okay last night." I smirked as I walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Yeah, I see you did too. How did it go with Spot?" he asked.

"Pretty good I suppose, he said he'd help…eventually…"

"What the hell does that mean?" he shook my shoulders violently.

"Are you feelin' alright?" I asked giggling. "It means that wese got to somethin' to prove ourselves." He let go of my shoulders and raised his eyebrow. "Lemme explain it slowly, we need to fight." David eyes rounded immensely.

"Fight? You're joking right?" David was shouting. All of the boys were now looking at us.

"Nah, I'm not." I said. "Listen you'll be fine, trust me." He regained his composure and sighed. I ruffled his hair jokingly and he returned the favor. I didn't bother doing anything with my hair today, nor did I bother with my hat. I was wearing a light blue shirt and a pair of Racetracks old pants. David didn't seem to care what he looked like today either, wearing his blue shirt half way undone, wearing a white undershirt.

"Caroline," I jumped at the sound of Racetrack's voice. "It's time." Seconds later I heard the bell ring, time to start the day. We ran towards the gate following the boys who were going in to get newspapers. Most of them looked cautiously over their shoulders at us.

The first boy came down, he was no older than fourteen. I smirked and lifted my eye brows while crossing my arms. He quickly dropped his papers to the ground and was followed by several different boys. They were welcomed by the boys with smiles and pats on the back.

_**David's P.O.V**_

"Big one." Race shouted. Standing before me was Knuckles. He was about six four and looked like he weighed in about a good two hundred pounds.

"Hey Knuckles, how's it going?" Caroline smiled as she said this sarcastically. He put his papers under his arm and shifted uncomfortably. Wow it's amazing for a girl of her size that she can control any guy or strike fear into them. "What's that you got there?" I heard her say to the guy. "A newspaper?"

"Move it Caroline," Knuckles said to her. He straightened up and most of the guys coward in fear, she just smirked even more. Her eyes drifted down to the newspaper and she smacked them to the ground. The boy looked up with rage in his eyes, yet Caroline didn't flinch.

Before it processed in my brain, he shoved Caroline into the rest of the boys. Almost as if time stood still, the next second no one moved. That was when mass chaos broke out. Everyone was hitting one another and Caroline knocked out Knuckles without a problem, and she was now moving on to other unlucky fellas. I quickly found Les, he was sitting over in the corner.

"David!" he screamed when I wrapped my arms around him, running him over to the gate.

"Go home Les." He opened his mouth, "Now!" I pushed him out the gate before he could say anything else. I quickly ran back into the gate and found the boys ripping up newspapers and screaming at the top of their lungs. All of the others who weren't apart of the strike were out of sight and I saw a flash of brown in front of my face.

"We did it David, step one: Check!" Caroline screamed, grabbing ahold of my shoulders pulling me in for a hug. It was only seconds long but it felt nice, like she actually had a soul.

Okay, okay, I know she is a nice person and loves every one. But still, she can be a little scary sometimes. She released the hug, and smiled wrapping all of the other boys in her arms. Then we heard the sound of whistle being blown! Caroline's eyes got huge and shot a look at me.

"Run! It's the bulls!" the boys immediately stopped whooping and hollering, and ran towards the gate.

_**Caroline's P.O.V.**_

"Bumlets, Skittery, Pie Eater." I yelled into the crowd of boys when we got back to the lodging house. I was doing a role call making sure we didn't lose anyone. That was a close one. They raised their hands and I moved on down the newsie sign in book that Kloppman had.

"Umm, Racetrack." Was the next name and the second to last.

"Here and at your service ma'am." I rolled my eyes and continued.

"Crutchy." I looked around the room. "Crutchy?" I raised my voice. Oh no… "Anyone seen Crutchy?" the boys all responded with no's or shaking their heads. They got him…I knew I shouldn't have left him alone…I looked over to David on my right and he had the same disappointed look I did. "Alright boys, go ahead and spend the rest of the day to yourselves." They all walked away hesitantly except for David.

"Caroline, where is he?" he asked.

I just smirked. "Ready to take a little trip Davey?"

_**Later that day…at night fall.**_

"Caroline! Where are we?" David shouted.

"Shh!" I turned backwards and held my index finger to my lips. He rolled his eyes and jogged to get to my side.

"Where are we?" he whispered to me as we stopped in front of a tall brick building with huge gate.

"The refuge, my home sweet home," I rested my forehead on the gate. I looked up to the top floor, in the farthest corner and found the light on as always.

"Alright, well why are we here?"

"Crutchy, of course." I faced him.

"Well, how are you sure he is here?" I rolled my eyes.

"How can I be sure the Delancys stink?" I said sarcastically, smirking. "It's just the way things work, ya know? Whenever some street rat kid gets arrested, Snyder makes sure he gets sent straight here... ya know, so he can rehabilitate them..."

"Who's Snyder?"

"He is the warden here. You've met him Davey." He lifted his eye brow to me. "The guy that was chasing me the first day we met." He nodded his head.

"Well, why does he have them sent here?"

"Boy you ask a lot of questions. But the more kids he has sent here, the more money the state sends him, which means the more he puts in his pocket." I adjusted the rope on my shoulder.

"What's the rope for?" I winked at him and a whistle blew as two cops walked out leaving the gate wide open. We ran in and climbed up the fire escape to the roof. I took the rope off of my shoulder and tied it around my waist.

"Lower me over the edge slowly, kay?" his eyes were huge and nodded very quickly. He tied the rope around his own waist, steadying me. I climbed over the edge and he lowered me down to the window. I knocked on it three times and a small boy came up to it.

"Heya Caroline. Miss the joint?" Ten Pin asked as he opened the window.

"Sure, you could say that." He smirked. "Hey, you got a new guy in here? His name is Crutchy."

"The gimp? Yeah, I know him. Hey Hoops, get the gimp." He yelled into the room. A boy got up and helped Crutchy stand and walk over to the window. He got a huge smile on his face when he looked out to see it was me.

"Wowza, I don't believe it! Heya Caroline, whatcha hanging' around here for?"

"Whadda mean why am I hangin' around here. But you'll never guess who is on the roof."

"Who?" he smiled.

"Dave."

"Really," his smile got bigger as he tried to look out the window. "Heya Davey!" he yelled. I looked up to see David roll his eyes.

"Listen Crutch, go get your stuff. Me and Davey, were gonna break ya outta here." I saw his smile fall and he looked away.

"Caroline…when I got caught…well Oscar and Meyer kinda worked me over a little…"

"They hurt you?" he nodded. "Listen, I am getting' you outta here even if I gotta carry you…"

"No one is carrying me." He interrupted me. "Hey…" the door to the room screeched open. "Cheese it!" I saw Snyder step in the room as Crutchy shut the window. I swung myself to side grabbing a brick with feet, hitting my head on the side of the wall.

"Ouch!" I yelped, holding my head.

"You okay?" David whispered from the top of the building, I heard a little laugh as well.

"Perfectly lovely," I spat out sarcastically. "Pull me up, we aint gettin' him tonight."


	9. Brooklyn Lends a Hand

_**Hey everybody!:) here is a very, very short chapter, I promise to have another one up either christmas eve or a few days after!:) Happy Holidays!**_

_**Brooklyn Lends a Hand**_

_Five, four..._I began to count down in my head. David stood on my left side and Racetrack to my right, both holding my hands. All of the boys were linking hands, and they were completely silent. _Three…two…_

_One._

The bell rang and the gate flew open with a man riding a carriage full of newspapers. The boys broke apart trying not to get hit by the wagon. As he drove by they screamed rude things at him as he drove by. My eyes didn't leave gate and David's hand didn't release mine. A group of boys, led by Knuckles, walked out of the distributing center holding newspapers.

The boys mumbled from behind me and I just looked over at David who looked terrified. "What do we do?" I whispered. He looked back and me and squeezed my hand.

"Alright everybody, we all just need to remain calm!" he yelled out to the crowd. I released his hand and looked at him, wondering if he was being serious. He just shrugged his shoulders. I rolled my eyes and faced my head back towards the gate.

"Let's soak 'em for Crutchy!" I yelled running towards the gate. The boys followed chanting and yelling and the ones near the gate retreated. Once we reached the inside of the gate, we pinned them to the back door. When one got they realized they were doomed, they starting knock. The door flung open.

"Caroline, the Crib! Scram!" Racetrack ran past me. I turned around only to have someone grab hold of my hand. The mysterious boy spun me around quickly to face him. It was Oscar.

"Heya Caroline, how's it hangin'?" He pulled closer towards me. I looked around trying to find a root out, but older men with knives, chains, and rope surrounded me, blocking me from my boys. When I turned my head back towards him, he had a devilish smile on his face. "Whadda say about a kiss?" he leaned in and I spat in his face.

"I would never!" I yanked myself away and tried to push past the wall of people. They pushed me back into Oscar's arms. He picked me up around the waist as I kicked and screamed. That was when I saw something flying in the air straight past me and hit Oscar in the middle of his head. "What the hell was that?" he put me down but still holding me tightly around my waist.

That was when I saw it, at least twenty boys standing up in fire escapes and roofs sling shots at the ready. "Never fear, Brooklyn is here." Spot announced. His slingshot was in his right hand and he was smirking. "Need a little help Caroline?" he pulled it up and took his aim.

"Nah," I smirked back and stomped on Oscars foot causing him to let go of me. I punched him in the jaw and kicked him in the groin. He fell to the ground and I looked back up at Spot who was smiling. I saw him mouth the word "_that's my goil". _The other Brooklyn newsies began shooting at other people, while my boys were fist fighting. Over my shoulder I saw Racetrack knocking a guy out but he had a small bruise growing on his cheek. David was hitting random guys here and there and Blink head butted a guy.

"Hey Spot," I yelled. He looked at me and I motioned him to come down. He walked over to a close line that connected from the roof to a place at the distributing center. As he was coming down I noticed to men stepping towards me.

"Better run…" one said, stepping closer to me. I smirked as Spot came down and kicked him in the back; they fell down at my feet. Spot stepped over and gave me a quick hug and then we realized we were getting surrounded again. We exchanged looks, smirked and nodded. We began throwing punches and Spot made his way towards the gate to get what I assumed to be the rest of his boys.

A guy began backing me up to the steps, I quickly sat down. "Hey, listen, I've had enough. Alright, alright, I've had enough." A bell rang in the background somewhere causing the guy who had cornered me to look up. I kicked him as hard as I could in the most uncomfortable spot I could think of. He bent over in pain and I kissed my knuckle and punched him.

I ran up onto the platform and Spot was immediately at my side smiling. Racetrack and David made their way up as well, with the Crib nowhere in sight. "We did it guys!" I hugged David first, my smile getting bigger and bigger. Then I hugged Racetrack and I stopped at Spot, who wouldn't let me go. When I finally pulled away we both bit our lip and turned away from each other.

"Caroline! Boys! Freeze!" I looked over to see Denton holding a camera, readying to take our picture. _What harm could it do? _I thought._ It's one picture, our story probably isn't even going to make the paper. _

"Alright fellas smile!" I leaned back and smiled.


	10. My Goil

_**I had a longgggg debate with myself whether or not I wanted to add this or not…so I just wanted to add this chapter in because I find it rather adorable. Thank You Clover Racetrack for your help!(: Well please review and favorite.**_

_**Spot's P.O.V.**_

_**My Goil.**_

"Heya Blitz, take every one home for me," I smirked at my second in command. "I think I'm gonna stay in 'hattan a little while longer." I looked over his shoulder and saw Caroline laughing with Mouth and Blink, also Breeze was on her lap, sleeping. We were inside of the Manhattan Lodging House, socializing about the day's events that had occurred.

"Why youse wanna stays?" Blitz asked taking a bite out of an apple.

"Reasons." I bit my lip, not taking my eyes off of Caroline.

"Like makin' out with my sister." Racetrack mumbled in my ear. I elbowed him in the stomach, smirking the entire time. He groaned as he walked away and sat down by Caroline, leaving Blitz looking very confused.

"Just do it, 'kay?" I asked him, my face turning hard. He nodded quickly.

"Alright boys, let's go!" Blitz yelled. All of the boys from Brooklyn immediately stood up and said there good byes, each one walking by Caroline, tipping their hats. Caroline shook Breeze but his eyes wouldn't open. Blitz went over and picked him up, nodded his head good bye to Caroline and they all left without another word. The room was almost empty except for Blink, Race, Mouth, Mush, Skittery and Boots. I looked over at the empty spot next to Caroline on the couch.

"Alright, who's up for a game of poker?" Blink asked. He stood up from the other side of the couch and waited for an answer. All of them grumbled out a yes, except for Caroline who was running her fingers though her hair. "How about you Caroline? You up for a game?"

"Nah, I think I'll let you fellas keep your money tonight." She giggled and winked. The other boys laughed and headed out of the room. Boots peeked his head back in the archway.

"Spot youse comin?" Boots asked.

"Nah not tonight kid, me and Caroline need to talk about a few things." I didn't take my eyes off of her. Boots shrugged his shoulders and left the room. She looked up at me, grinning, and then she patted the couch spot next to her. I walked over to her but I did not sit down. Instead I brushed her hair out of her face. "Is this a good place, a good time?" she nodded.

I bent down and kissed her forehead, slowly moving my way down to her lips. It was a light and short but it brought a smile to my face and butterflies to my stomach. "I missed that." She whispered. Caroline and I decided a long time ago that our relationship should be private with only a few people who knew. We decided that because of our positions as leaders and people would only think we had a treaty because we were involved with each other.

"Me too." I sat down on the couch beside her, pulling her feet on my lap.

"So… what made you come today?" she asked me crossing her arms and smirking. Her hair was down in light curls and her eyes were sparkling.

"Eh, my boys needed target practice…" I smirked as she leaned over and slapped my arm playfully. "Nah, I figured youse all would need our help."

"Oh, we are not that pathetic." She giggled. She had a really cute giggle.

"Can I ask you somethin'." I asked. She nodded. "Why didn't you ever come back? To visit or anything?"

Her smile dropped. "Too many bad memories." She looked at the empty fire place.

"Did you have _any _good ones?" I asked. She looked back at me with her bangs in her face once again.

"Yeah, there was one. When I met this little boy who was just a little older than I was and he taught me that people go to the stars when they die." She smiled.

"You 'member that?" I asked chuckling.

"Of course." I stopped laughing and looked at her.

"My turn to ask you something." She got a sly smile on her face.

"Alrigh, ask away."

"Did you miss me?" she asked twirling a piece of her hair.

Just as I was about to answer, Mouth knocked on the border of the entry way. Caroline pulled her feet off of my lap and a smile danced on her lips.

"Heya Davey, what's goin' on?" she asked brushing her hair behind her ears. He was smiling at her and giving her this look I didn't exactly feel comfortable with. In the pit of my stomach I felt sick.

"I'm headin' home, just wanted to say good night." He said rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Oh well good night, see you in the morning." She waved.

"Nice seeing ya again Spot." I nodded up at him, keeping a straight face on. He waved as he left the room and out the door. Caroline faced back towards me smiling again. "So where were we?" she put her legs back on my lap. I pushed them off. "Hey what was that for?" she asked giggling.

"Nothin'." I mumbled under my breath.

"It's something…"she asked, looking upset. "Tell me."

"Do you have feeling's for him?" I mumbled.

"What?" she leaned in closer to me.

"Mouth, your new boy, do you like him?" I asked her. She began laughing. "I'm not joking Caroline."

"James, I think you're a little jealous. I have absolutely no feelings for David in the least." This made me chuckle.

"Good, because I would be a little worried about your mental health." I said through each laugh, but she stopped.

"What that's supposed to mean?" she lifted her eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Well he aint your type and he aint the most attractive fella in the world, plus you can do so much better."

"Oh like you?" she asked pushing her hair out of her face.

"Well duh." I said smirking.

"You don't even know him!" she rolled her eyes and her face was turning red. "You know what, sometimes you're a totally ass Spot."

"Yeah, well I'm sorry!" _Just telling the truth _I thought to myself.

"No you're not, otherwise you wouldn't do it!"

"You know very well why I do it! Because of everything that has happened to me…"

"Oh yeah poor me, poor Spot Conlon! My daddy was a drunk and left when I was five years old!" she spat the words out like poison and each one stung.

"Shut up Caroline!"

"No Spot, because I had the same…no wait, I had a _worse _life than you did." She licked her lips and looked me directly in the eyes . "At least your father left, my stuck around. He hit me, insulted me, hell, he even touched me in places a five year old should never be touched. So don't you dare use that you that excuse."

"Caroline, I'm a leader, I have to be like that…"

"Be like what? A jerk?" she laughed. It wasn't her sweet laugh, it was her sarcastic laugh. "I'm not like that and my boys actually respect me."

"My boys respect me!" I yelled back at her. How dare she yell at me like that, she had no right.

"Spot your boys are afraid of you!" she stood up.

"Good!" I stood up getting in her face.

Her face softened again, "No, it's not…I love my boys more than anything and you act like yours are trash…"

"No I don't!"

"Will you shut up and let me talk for once!" she yelled. I crossed my arms and shut my mouth. "They are people too Spot and believe it or not you're not some King. You're a human being too. Get over yourself or I don't want to see you again until you go back to the boy I fell in love with." She turned around so fast her hair whacked me in the face and walked out of the room. I followed behind her.

"Well Caroline, I may be a jerk to my boys, but they sure as hell saved your boys pathetic asses today." She smacked me across the face.

"How dare you." I held my cheek, she hits harder than I remembered, and that's considering I was the one who taught her how throw a punch and fight. Her bottom lip started to quiver and her eyes started to fill up with tears.

"Oh come on, why don't you just go home to your mommy Caroline." I rolled my eyes.

"Because she's dead." Caroline's face turned stone cold and my heart sank. _Her mom is dead? It..it can't be true…she said she got better! _

"Caroline, I'm sorry…" I put my hands on her shoulders and she turned away and looked at the ground.

"Just get out." She mumbled. I saw a tear fall down off of her face to the ground. "Get out." She yelled looking at me. Her eyes were red and filled with tears. I put my hat on my head and grabbed my cane. I opened the front door but stepped half way out before I looked back at her. She was biting her lip, looking in the other room and her arms were crossed.

"To answer your question earlier, I did miss you, like more than I told you at the docks…and one more thing.." I paused, taking in a deep breath. "I love you." I said, we had never said it to each other before. She looked at me and her jaw dropped a little. I tipped my hat and walked out of the lodging house. It was pouring outside so I unrolled my sleeves and began my long walk home. There were barely any people out here and if they were, they were running. I walked slowly, taking in the rain, feeling each drop hit my body.

I had made the only girl I have ever truly loved cry tonight. I am an idiot. But that was the only problem with me and Caroline, we both had tempers, only with hers, she could control it. Trust me, if she couldn't, eh, I'd probably be lying in some alley bleeding to death. Our tempers both got bad when they were with each other, only she always ended up being the one that was right.

"SPOT!" I heard someone yelling from behind me. I turned around to Caroline running towards me. Her hair was completely drenched and her clothes were sticking to her body. She slowed down to a jog when she reached me. "Oh Spot, I'm sorry. I just was frustrated and everything and I haven't slept in…" I wrapped my arms around her waist, lifted her up and kissed her. I kissed her hard and long, and it felt amazing. I had kissed a lot of girls in my time, but she was still the only one that made me melt. My cane fell to the ground and so did my hat, I didn't care, I had her in my arms once more.

"I love you too." She whispered. I put her down and held her in my arms. "Come on back to the lodging house, we'll get you dried off and you can just stay here for the night." We walked back to the lodging house with her hand in mine and separated when we stepped in. We went from lovers to friends once more.


	11. King of New York

_**Hello every one, please leave me some love, it will be much appreciated! Hopefully two more chappies up this week or Mcrea Angel Conlon is going to kill me…XD and worse, destroy my newsie DVD!:"(**_

_**King of New York**_

The next morning instead of going to the distributing center, we went straight to Tibbys Diner. It was a popular and cheap place for us to eat, get together and talk. Spot had stayed the night sleeping in the extra bed, so he was still with us. I had sent one of my birds to tell Breeze that their "king" was busy for the day.

The boys left at different times of the morning, Spot, Racetrack and I being last. "So what did you two talk about yesterday?" Racetrack asked a sly smile creeping up on his face. Spot and I looked at each other and smiled.

"Nothin' that should concern wonderin' minds." Spot said winking at me.

"Oh never mind, your makin' me sick," Racetrack mumbled and walked in front of us. I ran up behind him and jumped on his back. "Oh, Caroline! I thought I told you to warn me next time you did that."

"Sorry," I whispered. Spot caught up with us and Racetrack carried me the rest of the way to the restaurant. When we entered he put me down, messed up my hair and smiled. We made our way over to our table and quickly sat down.

"Heya guys! 'Bout time you showed up. " Blink and a bunch of others boys walked over and pulled out chairs for themselves. David sat on the other side of me which made Spot scoot slightly closer, I rolled my eyes. Frank came up to me with a menu and I quickly skimmed it even though I wasn't hungry. I ended up just ordering a glass of water.

The bell rang over the door and I saw Bryan Denton walking in holding a newspaper. "Morning everyone!" he waved and we yelled hellos. Frank set my water down in front of me as Denton walked over to our table. "Well, got a surprise for you guys." I took a sip of my water and he threw down the paper in front of me. I spat out my water all over the table once I saw what was on the front page.

It was a picture of the newsies at the distribution center. With me, right in the middle, with a big smile on my face. I picked up and the paper and shook my head. _No, no, no this can't be happening to me! _"Hey you got us in the papes!" I heard David yell walking over to Denton. Spot and Racetrack looked over my shoulders.

"Holy shit…" they said in unison. "Act normal…" I mumbled so they could only hear me, and Racetrack began rubbing my shoulder.

"Wow, I look terrible!" Racetrack said looking farther over my shoulder, shoving his face in the paper. Mush pulled him back and looked down at the picture.

"Hey at least Caroline looks decent," Mush said from beside me, laughing. "She looks like those one of those gorgeous goils from the nickelodeon or somethin'." I rolled my eyes and felt my mood being lightened a little. I don't know how Mush did it, he just made me feel better.

"Where's me pitcha, where's me pitcha?" Spot asked, his voice sounding powerful, but if you listened closely you could hear it shaking a little. I looked at him with wondering eyes and he was smirking over my shoulder.

"Oh, Spot would you stop thinking about yourself?" I asked playing along. I saw his face go smug and roll his eyes. "You know if being a newsie doesn't work out for ya, you could always work for Medda as an actor." I said under my breath so only he could hear. This made him smile.

"So you get your pitcha in the paper, what does that get ya?" Skittery asked with perhaps the smuggest look on his face imaginable.

"What are you talking about?" Mush asked pushing him a little.

"Yeah what's your problem?" I asked. "You've been in a bad mood all week." He looked at me as if I had smacked him.

"No I haven't." he pounded his fists on the table, and I rolled my eyes.

"Hey glum and dumb." Racetrack moved over to him and smacked him lightly across the face. "When you get your pitcha in the paper, you're famous. And when your famous, you get whatever you want." He smacked his hand down on the table. "That's what so great about New York!" the boys cheered.

"What could you get?" Skittery asked crossing his arms.

Racetracks face went blank and he looked at me with fear in his eyes. "Well, Skits, you could get anything." I said standing up. "Like maybe a pair of new shoes with matching laces or…uh…"

"A porcelain tub with some boiling water," Spot came to my rescue walking up next to me.

"Or a permanent box at Sheepshed Races!" Racetrack said with excitement.

"Or…" Blink walked up next to me. "A Saturday night with the mayors daughter." He looked down at my chest with his one eye and I smacked him across the face, playfully of course, all of the boys hooted and hollered at this. He quickly walked away, Spot glaring at him the entire time.

"Or how about an editor's desk for the star reporter?" David said from the corner next to Denton. We all turned around to face them with odd expressions. "You know, since he got us in the papes." Denton was a pale pink and smiling.

"Yeah Denton, you have done so much for us…"I said and I shoved my hand in my pocket and pulled out a dollar. "Drinks on me." I said. Frank smiled as he headed into the kitchen to grab cokes. The boys and I quickly gathered around a table with Denton.

"Alrigh, we need some ideas now to find a way to stay in the papes." I said pulling my hair back and tying it up. It was extremely warm in here or maybe it was because there were about twenty of us standing around a very small table.

"And get into other papes." David inquired.

"Yeah, mine is the only one printing anything on the strike." Denton said rolling up his sleeves.

"That means we have to do something big." Racetrack said. Over his shoulder I saw Mush and Blink laughing and dancing on a table. _A rally…_ I thought..

"Like a rally." I said. The boys shot me glances and immediately got quiet. "A newsie rally with every single newsie from New York! It needs to be huge! It needs to be the biggest, loudest, noisiest blow out this town has ever seen." Frank set down the cokes and each boy grabbed one. "The big boys need to know there is a lot of us and we aint goin' away. We will fight until Doomsday if we have too." The boys were smiling.

"Hey boys, to our man Denton, for everything." We made a toast and chugged down half our cokes.

"Also to Caroline," I heard Spot say across from me. All of the boys and me gave him a confused look. "For being an outstandin' leada, somethin' I could onlys hope for." My face turned hot as a blush rose on my cheeks. He lifted his glass as did the rest of the boys and toasted. They finished up the cokes and we began working out details.

"It should be tomorrow." I said. The boys looked at me with strange glances. "Does anyone else have any plans?" I asked with sarcasm dripping off of every word.

"No, um Caroline…" Racetrack said. "Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"Should I?" I asked shaking my head.

"Its July twenty-sixth…" he mumbled. I still didn't get it, what was so important about it.

"Caroline, it's your birthday." Spot said smirking. I smacked my forehead, I had totally forgotten. With everything that has been happening in the past few weeks, I had just forgotten. It had become lesser and lesser important to me every year, especially after my mom died. It just became another day to me, and no matter how many times I tell the boys, they always do something ridiculous. Like one year they saved money for a cake but that was one of my first birthdays when Jack Kelley was still leader.

"Well all the more reason to have a party." Denton said with excitement in his voice. I looked up at him and smiled and the rest of the boys shook their heads in agreement. Good, the rally was date was set for tomorrow.

"Alright, now we need to get the news out." David said.

"I can have some of my runners and birdies spread it around," Spot spoke up.

"That would be much appreciated Spot, thank you." I said, smiling and nodding my head. We made a couple more plans like the location, Meddas of course, and what all was going to happen. By the time we were finished the sun was setting and Denton had to leave. The boys filed out and Spot left to send his runners out. But not without pulling me over and telling me he loved me.

Until yesterday, we had never said it to each other and it still gave me goose bumps to hear it. That's why I ran after him, and kissed him. I watched him walk away and he turned back once and smiled.

"Caroline?" I turned around and saw David smiling.

"Hey," I said smiling back.

"So, you know you're like one of my best friends right?" I glanced over at him sideways. "And I have no feelings for you anything more than that." I nodded. "Can you tell Spot that?"

"Why?" I blushed.

"Cause…well, he kinda threatened me today…his exact words being 'if you ever touch Caroline, I kick your ass and make sure in the end you can kiss your own ass.'" He said. I looked at him and all I could do was laugh, only Spot. David chuckled a little. "I think he has a thing for you." I stopped laughing and wiped my tears away.

"Oh, you have no idea Davey."


	12. Where Would the Adventures Be?

_**Hello everybody, sorry it took so long lol. I hope you won't hurt me…*cough cough*McRea Angel *cough cough* thanksfor the reviews every one, and here we go!(:**_

_**Spot's P.O.V.**_

I arrived at the Manhattan lodging house around five o'clock or so in the morning. See we have always had this competition to see who could wish Caroline a Happy Birthday the first every year, and I usually ended up losing because of living in Brooklyn. Not this year, I got up at three in the morning and walked over to the lodging house. Kloppman was sleeping at his desk. I tapped the edge of my cane lightly against his desk and his head shot up.

"Spot!" he wiped his eyes as I smirked. "Lemme guess, it's July twenty-sixth." I nodded and he rolled his eyes. "What's the basket for?" I followed his gaze to a basket I was holding in my hands. I shrugged.

"It's a surprise." I whispered.

"Go on in, but don't pull anything on her…"

"Me? Do somethin' like dat?" I acted offended. "I'm hurt Kloppman, I thought we were closer than dat." He shook his head and I began to walk away but not before he grabbed my shoulders.

"I'm not joking Spot, you pull one thing, and you will never see the light of day again." He looked me directly in my eyes and I nodded, knowing he wasn't joking. It amazed me sometimes that even the people who knew that I had loved Caroline since I was a little kid, they still get worried I'm going to hurt her. If anything, she would probably be the one that broke my heart in the end.

I climbed up the stairs, trying to avoid the squeaky ones at all costs. I finally reached the top and walked into the bunkroom. It smelled like sweat and you heard loud snoring coming from all corners of the room. _This is why I have my own room…_I quickly moved to the end of the hallway and entered Caroline's room.

In the corner I saw her sleeping like an angel. Her hair circled her head like a halo. I watched her chest move up and down gently. I shook my head knowing I had to act fast, I went out the open and put the basket out on the fire escape. I then turned around to see what her room looked like

It was very neat, like there wasn't a speck of dust in sight. She had a chest at the foot of her bed which I assumed held her clothing, and a table next to her bed. On the opposite wall, she had newspaper clippings. I walked over to take a closer look. She had one about an affair on Ellis Island and few other ones about random things, but one caught my eye. The headline read _Man Thrown in Prison for Abuse of Wife and Children. _It was dated November thirtieth in the year 1888…the year her dad was arrested.

"That was my first one collected." I head a soft whispered from the far corner. I turned around to see Caroline sitting up on her elbows looking sadly down at the ground.

"Hey, looks at me." She kept her gaze at the ground so I put down the article and sat on her bed. I lifted her chin up with my hand. "They're no sad faces on you birthday." The corners of her mouth curled up and she smiled.

"I see you wanted to win this year." She whispered. I smirked and nodded. "Well say it." I brushed her hair back and rested my hand on her neck.

"Happy birthday beautiful."

"Thank you." She whispered, leaning forward. She brushed her lips gently against mine and pulled back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it was still dark out. _Only a little time left_.

"Hey, go get dressed and meet me out on the roof soon." She looked at me like I was nuts. "Trust me." I hopped off of the bed and climbed out the window.

_**Caroline's P.O.V.**_

As soon as Spot leapt out of the window, I got up and threw on a pair of pants and a shirt. Then I ran a brush through my hair and tried to figure out what I was going to do with it for the rally. _Maybe Medda would help with it… _I paced in my room for a second and then decided it was a good time to go out on the roof.

I gently put on leg over the sill of my window and then the other, the whole time wondering what he was doing up there. "Can I come up?" I called, still sitting on the window.

"Yeah!" he hollered back. I slowly trudged up each step, my legs hurt for some reason, probably from fighting more than usual. As I reached the last step, I looked over the edge of the building onto the roof and gasped. It was beautiful. There were small candles on the edge of a plaid blanket and a bowl of fruit in the middle. On either side of it were small plates with bread and a small jar of jam with milk in glasses.

"Spot.." My voice trailed off. He looked up at me smiling softly. "It's…beautiful." I walked over to the blanket and sat down.

"It's not much but…it's all I could afford..." He whispered.

"No Spot," I said caressing his cheek. "Its perfect." His smile grew and I picked up my milk glass and he clinked his against mine. We sat there and ate and watched the sun come up. "This is the best birthday I have had in a long time..." I was now leaning up against his chest with his arms gently wrapped around my waist.

"Ah but my dear," he said in a British accent causing me to giggle. "The day has only yet begun." He kissed my temple as I rested my head on his shoulder. "Caroline?"

"Hmm?" I asked.

"I loves youse." He whispered in my ear and squeezed me. I smiled as I looked out at the sunset, making me think of Santa Fe…

"Spot?"

"Yeah?" he mumbled.

"I can't stay here…" I whispered. He took a deep breath and held it in. "In New York I mean…not while my dad is still out there."

"I know…" he let it out. He held me tighter and I noticed his leg was shaking.

"But, I wanna be with youse forever…" I whispered again. "You promised…"

"I know, and I wanna keep dat promise." He said more so to himself than to me. That was when an idea popped into my head.

"Come with me…" I felt his head move to look down at me and I looked up at him. "You're always talking about leaving New York, why not come with me." I said as if it was the most irrelevant thing in the world. I shifted around so I was looking directly into his eyes.

"I…can't." he whispered in a very small voice. He took his gaze and put it down on the ground, I soon followed. He looked back up at me. "I have no money and…"I put my finger to his lips.

"Do you wanna know something?" I asked not taking my eyes away from his, he slowly nodded. "I have had enough money saved up for years…" I took my finger away from his lips.

"Then why didn't you leave?" he asked.

"Why do you think?" his face softened and pointed to his chest, I nodded slowly. He leaned in and kissed me gently.

"God Caroline, why do you always make my life more and more complicated." he said, our lips still touching. I pulled back and bit my lip with a smile.

"Cause if your life was easy, where would all of our adventures be?" he smiled and pulled me back into his lap and stroking my hair. "Just promise me you'll think about it."

"I'll thinks about it." He mumbled. That was good enough for me for the time being.

* * *

About noon I decided to head over to Meddas to ask for her help. Spot decided to go home after we had the conversation about him leaving with Racetrack and I to avoid colliding with the other boys. Once I arrived at Meddas, I entered through the back entrance. I quickly walked up the stairs and walked down the hallway until I saw a star that said Medda. I knocked on the door.

"Yes?" I heard Medda say in a sing song voice.

"It's your favorite newsie." I called with a smirk on my face. On the other side of the door, I heard fussing and things being thrown, I just rolled my eyes. She flew open the door.

"Racetrack!" she yelled sarcastically. Her smile fell and dropped her arms. "Oh it's you."

"Thanks Medda. I can feel the love." She giggled and wrapped her arms around me in a very tight hug. "Plus my voice is not that low." I mumbled from her shoulders. She let me go and lead me into her dressing room. We sat on a long couch and she poured me some tea.

"Happy birthday by the way." She spoke as she lifted the glass to her mouth and took a small sip.

"Thank you." I mumbled, taking a sip.

"Now, I am assuming you are here for some other reason than to sit here and drink tea with me." She put her cup down. "After all the rally tonight…"

I felt a blush creeping up on my cheeks as she led me over to a chair in front of her mirror. "Now we will start with your hair, then your makeup, then finally your dress..."

"Uh no dress please…" I asked. I was afraid to wear a dress in front of the boys, fearing they would laugh.

"Fine no dress." She smiled. "Now, where to start…"


	13. Old Friends And Birthday Wishes

_**Hey everybody, and welcome back to my story!(: it still means a lot to me for the people who have stuck with this story. Sadly, it will be coming to a close sooner rather than later. Only a few chappies left): but I would like to thank my new friend and writing partner, McRae Red Conlon!(: I am thanking her for letting me use Angel (McRae) in this chapter as Caroline's friend from Brooklyn.**_

_**Old Friends and Birthday Wishes.**_

When Medda and I finished getting ready we both realized we had about twenty minutes until the boys would begin to arriving. So we sat down on a bench in the greeting room to talk and sip tea, while she would mess with my hair every so often. It was pulled into a half pony tail with curls falling gently fall past my shoulders.

Eventually, she handed me my birthday present, which she insisted I open right away. I gently tore into the paper and discovered a box filled with sweets, a blue ribbon and twenty dollars.

I looked up at her. She just shook her head. "Just say thank you and nothing else. It is my contribution to you and Racetrack leaving for Santa Fe." Every year Medda gave me and Racetrack money and one of our mother's belongings. For example, last year Racetrack got a picture of him and mom when he was born. He has slept with it under his pillow every night since. Over the years, they had been getting more and more personal and harder to open.

The blue ribbon is what my mother wore in her hair the day she died. I quickly tied it around my neck like a necklace, it went perfectly with my white blouse and the navy skirt that she had talked me into wearing. In my opinion there is a huge difference with dresses and skirts, but that's just me.

She has all of my mother's things because she is both of our Godmothers. That is why she always gave us gifts and would be happy to see us. When our mom died, she took us in for about a month, then her manager made her give us up because we weren't good for her image. So she tries her best to come and see us when she can, supports us often and keeps us connected to our mom.

I leaned over and gave her a hug. We quickly separated when we heard loud yells and chants, the boys were here. Medda and I exchanged glances and nodded, prepping for battle to get the boys attention. We stood up as a bunch of newsies from all over New York cramped into the greeting area. I noticed leaders from all over. My good friend Gear from Harlem, my I know-you-sort of-friend Buzz from Staten Island, and finally, my least favorite Rider, the Queens leader. Ironically, my boys weren't here yet.

"Um, boys?" Medda said sweetly. "Boys?" the yelling and screaming went on. I rolled my eyes and whistled. They still kept on bickering but the leaders were trying to get them to stop, they just wouldn't listen.

"QUEITTT!" I heard a girl with thick Brooklyn accent yell from the back of the room. The boys immediately silenced themselves and parted, showing me the girl who had yelled. I immediately smirked seeing a girl about fifteen, smiling with her hand on her hips with her caramel hair falling into gentle curls, her green eyes stern. "Don't youse idiots knows how to respect a ladies of Caroline's and Miss Meddas position."

Every single boy there hung their heads and said that they were sorry. Spot came next to the girl and patted her back. "Alright boys, into the performing area. I'll show you your places if you would just follow me." Medda led Harlem and Queens through the ground doors while Charlie led Staten Island up to the balcony. "Spot tell your boys, they can also follow me." Medda said as she peeked her head back through the door.

"Blitz…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know Spot." Blitz rolled his eyes and gestured for the boys to follow him, he tipped his hat as he walked past me. "Happy Birthday Ms. Caroline." I nodded my head in thanks and watched the boys go into the main room.

"CAROLINE!" McRae said running up to me and giving me a huge hug. "Happy Birthday!" her thick Irish accent was now returning. McRae had been my best girl friend since she first came to America a few years back. She moved to Brooklyn to avoid her father and brothers so Spot took her in. She had worked her way up to be his third in command.

"Thank you Angel. You look beautiful!" I told her. She smiled and spun around giving me a three sixty of her dress.

"You do too." We both giggled a little and then I noticed Spot staring at me.

"Hey," he said, with the corners of his mouth curling up. Angel looked from Spot to me and then back to Spot.

"Um, I thinks I am just gonna go and find my spot now…Nice seeing ya again Caroline, maybe we can hang out later."

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot." I said not taking my eyes off of Spot. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Angel smile as she walked away, leaving me alone with Spot. We stood in silence, looking at each other. A smile crept up on his face.

He slowly walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me and I rested my head on his shoulder. "I can't stay long." He mumbled.

"I know, but just stay here for now." We stood there not saying a word. We didn't have to because every moment he touched me, I would get chills and my heart would skip a beat. It was better than talking.

My fingers gently moved up to his chest and up to the neckline of his shirt. I pulled out the locket out of his shirt and played with it. "I can't believe you still have it." I whispered. He moved one of his hands from my waist and brought it up to my hand and held it.

"Why would I get rid of it?"

"I don't know. Because of all of the other goils you have been with…" I mumbled and dropped my chin. "I mean they must have been loads of pretty ones…"

He lifted my chin up and kissed my forehead. "Yeah there were some pretty ones, but still they all had one thing in common…they weren't you." I shook my head a little and laughed.

"Do you realize that was the cheesiest thing you have ever said to me." He shrugged his shoulders and smirked and chuckled. "But it was very romantic." I kissed his lips before falling back into his arms and the silence.

"Youse nervous for tonight?" he asked.

I pulled away to look in his eyes. "Yeah." I said truthfully. It was the truth, for once I had to do this on my own without David telling me what to say. Or without Spot by my side…"Come on stage with me." He laughed a little. "No I mean, you don't have to say anything but…I don't know, help me a little." He laughed a little bit more. "What is so funny? You know I am not good with public speaking." I pulled away but he immediately pulled me closer than we were before.

"That is why I'm laughin'. You can beat the crap out of any guy I put in front of ya, but you can't say the things you wanna say." I giggled a little. He was right, I had always been terribly shy when it came to speaking in public. He stomach stopped moving up and down and he looked down at me. "Okay, I will get up on stage with you but…"

I groaned. "I hate buts!"

"You'll like this one." He gave me his signature smirk. I crossed my arms separating us just slightly but his arms remained securely around my waist. "You'll save one dance for me."

"That, my dear James, I can do." I uncrossed my arms and wrapped them around his neck. I got up on my tip toes and kissed his lips gently. From behind me I heard someone clear their throat from behind me. We quickly separated to see Blitz crossing his arms and leaning against the door way.

"Blitz, how long youse been standin' der?" Spot asked. He looked mad that Blitz was smirking and chuckling.

"Eh, just long enough to see you to kiss...twice." I felt a blush creeping up on my cheeks and out of the corner of my eye, Spots neck was turning red. His cheeks didn't turn red when he blushed, his neck and chest did. And that I learned from experience. "Listen man, I've known for a while, your secrets safe with me."

"Lemme guess, Angel?" Blitz nodded. "Remind me why she is my third in command again?" Blitz shrugged and Spot looked back towards me. "I gotta go, but I'll see on stage." He kissed my temple and walked over to Blitz, who patted his back.

"Happy Birthday." A voice said form behind me. I spun around to see Racetrack holding a little box in his hand and all of the other boys were standing behind him. I gave a soft smile and bent over to whisper in Races ear.

"Did they um…"

"Nope, they saw nothing. I kept them outside till Spot was next to Blitz." I gave a thankful smile.

"Hey fellas!" they all said hello and random Happy Birthdays popped up. "You guys are next to Brooklyn next to the stage so I can keep an eye on you." I said slyly and sarcastically. The boys laughed and followed David inside before I grabbed his shoulder. "You know you're on stage with me, right?"

"I do now." He smiled and I let go and he followed the rest of the boys. I turned back towards Race.

"Why are ya still here kid?" I asked him. He motioned the gift towards me. I opened it and inside it held a bracelet. It was silver with heart that was engraved to say _Caroline_. I looked up at him with a huge smile, it was beautiful.

"Oh and one more thing." he pulled out my mom's butterfly pin from his pocket. "I found it in your drawer. Now," he put it in my hair. "You look perfect."

"Thank you." I said in a light whisper. Tears started rolling down my cheeks.

"Come here beautiful." Racetrack reached out his arms and I stepped into them. He was warm and relaxing. "I love you Caroline." He kissed the top of my head.

"I know Race, I love you too." I said burying my head farther in to his chest. I pulled back after a few seconds and looked at him. "Common kid, let's go start a rally." He laughed as he picked me up bridal style which caused me to scream and kick, I hated being carried like this.

We entered to see more groups than we had originally seen come in, the must have come in the other entrance. He put me down and escorted me to the stage and helped me up. Spot and David quickly joined me and then, my hands began to sweat.

_Oh come on!_


	14. May I Have This Dance?

_**Hola!(: This is one of my personal favorite chappies, and also probably the longest I have written for this story(: over 2,000 words! It was actually A LOT longer but I decided to split it off into another chapter so yeah! Haha so please leave me a review and I will update sooner(: **_

_**May I Have This Dance?**_

_Oh come on!_

I looked out in the crowd. There had to be at least three hundred guys here, all standing their silent waiting for me to talk. That was when my head started spinning. My hand went up to steady myself. "Duh…uh…" that was all I could get out before my throat went dry. I winced as I turned around and ran off stage. From behind me I heard laughing and the talking started once more.

Once back behind the large curtain, I slid down into the corner and buried my head in my hands. "Caroline?" a voice asked me as it gently laid his hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw David smiling. "You okay?" I nodded.

"I…" my throat was still dry. He held up his finger and ran off into a different corner. He came back quickly with a glass of water. I nodded my head in thanks and took a large gulp of it. "Thanks." He smiled again sitting down beside me. We sat in silence for a little while. "I can't speak in front of large groups of people." I said irrelevantly. He looked at me as if I was crazy. "My hands get sweaty, my head spins, and my throat dries up."

He laughed at me. "What's so funny about that!" I asked, feeling offended.

He stopped and ran his fingers through his brown curls on the top of his head. "Nothing, I just…" he hesitated. "I just thought you were good at everything." I felt my face turn hot and he began to chuckle again. "Your blushing." We both laughed together. I stopped laughing and pulled my knees up to my chest.

"I'm not sure if I can do this Davey." I mumbled. David looked at me again and he stood up.

"Alright Caroline," he held out his hand. "I'll help you out." I took it and he pulled me up.

"And how are you going to do that?" I asked. We were close together, so close I could feel the heat coming off of his body. He smiled.

"Well, just focus your attention on one person in the audience. A friend, or a fellow leader, or Racetrack would probably be the best. It will keep you relaxed and calm."

"That could work." I pondered the thought. "But what if my throat dries up."

"I had them put some water on stage." David said. "Well get through this together. Common lets go."

I kissed his cheek and gave him a hug. At first his arms just dangled at first until he got used to the fact and wrapped his arms around my waist. It was weird being in his arms but nice, like a brother. I felt safe and secure, like nothing could hurt me. He kissed the top of my head. I froze in place.

"We better go before your boyfriend tries to kill me." He said pulling back as I laughed. I nodded and we walked out to the stage.

Spot was leaning against a table, talking to a few people in the crowd. He was laughing and smiling, not something you see out of him very often. Not since…well not for a long time. I looked out at the audience and the room started spinning. David squeezed my shoulder. "You can do this." He whispered. I nodded and ran out on stage. Everyone stopped talking as I took center, standing next to Spot. He winked at me and David smiled even bigger.

"Carry in the banner!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Everyone started cheering and clapping. "Alright, alright everyone quiet down." They sat down as I turned around and took a sip of my water. I looked out in the audience right at Racetrack who was smiling and giving me the thumbs up. I took a deep breath and let it out. "Alrigh' fellas, we have come a very long way. But we also gots a long way to go and it is just going to get tougher now." I paused.

"Which means we gots to gets tougher with it." I walked over to David and put one of my hands on his shoulder. "But also, we gotta get smart and start listening to my pal David, who says 'stop soakin' the scabs'."

"Yeah well Caroline, what are we supposed to do with their bums, kiss um?" Racetrack mumbled loudly so mostly everyone could hear. People around him started chuckling with him, as did I. I had wondered the same thing when David told me that but I went with it any way.

"Listen," Spot said standing up and holding up his fists. "Any scab I see, I soak him period." I rolled my eyes. All the boys in the crowd cheered as Spot smiled and gave them high fives.

"No, no. That's what they want us to do. If we get violent, it's just playing into their hands." David said, trying to get everyone to get quiet. But we all know how hard it is to silence a large group of boys after they get rallied up, especially when it comes to fighting.

"Hey, look kid." Spot said getting close to David. His face was hard. "They're gonna be playing with my hands, alright. 'Cause it aint what they say, it's what we say. And nobody aint gonna listen to us unless we make 'em. And don't try and tell us any different, cause you don't know what it is like for us." I think was going farther for Spot than just a disagreement, it was much more personal. I rubbed my chin and walked behind the table. I needed to think of something quick. Then a brilliant idea popped into my head.

"You got no brains." I yelled into the crowd. Everyone stopped arguing and looked towards me. Even Spot was giving me his full attention. "Why are we trying to fight each other? It is just what the big shots wanna see." I walked around to Spot and David and got in the middle of them. "We need to stick together, we are all in the same situation. And if we don't stick together, were nothing. If we don't act together then were nothing."

"Yeah you tell them Caroline!" I looked up at the balcony to see McRae and Blink yell in unison. The looked at each other and giggled. _Now there is a cute couple in the making._ I smiled to myself.

"So what's it gonna be ladies and gents?" I asked holding my arms up. Mumbled response came from the crowd. "I can't hear you!" I yelled. They all chanted yes and cheered. Well that was everybody but Brooklyn. I looked over at Spot. His arms were crossed and was leaning against the table again. I walked over to him and his deep blue eyes met mine. "What about you Spot? Whaddya say?"

He bit his lip and looked over my shoulder at David. Then he turned to the audience and they were completely silent, waiting for him to speak. "I say…that what you say…" he stood up and brushed his blonde hair out of his face. "Is what I say." I smiled as I spat into my hand and shook it with his. I kept ahold of his hand and grabbed David's and lifted them both up into the air. The boys cheered.

After a few moments we put our arms down and I was ready to get off stage and dance but both of their grips tightened. "What are you doing?" I mumbled but they both smirked.

"Alrigh everyone, for all ya'll that know Caroline here," Spot started.

"It is her 16th birthday today." David finished. "So why don't we all sing to her." My eyes widened as I looked down at Racetrack and Mush, who were laughing so hard they were crying. The crowd started in singing to me and my face got hot again. After they were finished, David and Spot let me go.

"Thank you everyone!" I yelled. "Now who is ready for some dancing!" they all cheered and cleared out the dance floor as the music started to play. Medda was going to perform later but now it was a girl newsie Owl. She was amazing and she was also Gears girl. I didn't know her that well but we had talked.

Racetrack helped me off the stage. "May I have this dance?" I looked out on the dance floor, there was no one out there yet, which was the exact reason he wanted to dance with me now.

"Of course my darling little brother." I said in my highest class sounding voice. We ran out to the dance floor and started waltzing. My mom had given us dance classes our entire life and we loved to show off what we could do.

He spun me under his arm and then the music got faster. We soon changed into doing a Sumba and everyone clapped. It was a way for me and him to relieve stress, not to mention helps him work out. He picked me up with great ease and we spun around. People clapped as he set me down and we began dancing regularly. There were now other couples on the dance floor including McRae and Blink slow dancing and Rider and Water, one of his many girls, were dancing very…well sexy.

"Can I cut in?" a voice asked. I looked over and Spot was standing next to us. Racetrack nodded and kissed my cheek.

"Save one more dance for me tonight, kay?" I nodded and smiled and with that Racetrack headed over to a back table with David and Mush. Spot smirked at me and took my hands in his and gently rested them on his shoulders. Then he wrapped his around my waist. We didn't get to close, but I still got butterflies.

"You sure you wanna do this?" I asked and he glared at me.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked.

"Cause you don't slow dance Spot." I whispered.

He chuckled a little and brushed a piece of hair out of my eyes. "I do when I'm with my goil." I smiled and lessened the space between us. We were just close enough that I could smell his distinct smell off of his shirt. It hadn't changed since we were little kids, nothing had. I was just realizing this. I looked up at him and smiled, my body wanting to kiss him and never stop. He must have felt it too because at that moment he kissed my forehead.

I felt people's eyes on us, they were staring. "People are staring." I said. He looked out in the crowd and shrugged.

"Let 'em stare." He said pulling tight against his body. At that moment, it was just me and him and there was no one else in the world. It was as if time stopped and we were still going. "I loves youse." He whispered.

"I love you too." I whispered back. He squeezed me tighter. No one could take him from me and no one could take me from him. "Kiss me" I whispered. He shook his head. "Please, that is all I want for my birthday."

"You sure?" he asked.

"I have never been so sure about anything in my life. This has been a secret for too long." He smiled as he bowed his head down and just as our lips were about to touch, we heard a cough.

"Excuse me." A high pitch voice said from beside us. We both looked over to see a girl with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes the color of water. And go figure that is her name. She looked at Spot with seductive smile on her face. Then she turned to me and looked me up and down and grimaced. "Now sweet Caroline, you can't hog the king of Brooklyn to yourself all night, right? Why not give some other girls a chance."

I looked up at Spot and shrugged. There was nothing I could do to get him out of this, after all to a lot of other people, I wasn't his girl. We were just friends in their eyes. "Sure of course Water." She smiled sarcastically at me. I pulled away and he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and Water grabbed the other one. "Thanks Spot, I'll um…see ya…" he smiled at me sympathetically.

"Bye now." She said rudely. I turned around and began walking towards an empty table. I plopped myself down and sighed. The music got louder and it was giving me a head ache. I shut my eyes and rubbed my temples.

"This seat taken?" a voice asked.

* * *

**_haha, i really have got to stop with the cliffy endings lol. Actually, I like the next chapter that is coming up and I promise that next chapter we will see some action(: Oh yeah, and please, please, PLEASE reveiw, it would be the world to me. I give you a cookie(: lol. Also Anonymous Reveiwers are very welcome here(:!_**


	15. Lean On Me

_**Hey everybody, I am sorry I didn't get this up a few days ago when I wanted too…It was my birthday last Wednesday!(: lol. So I wanted my gift from you guys to be your beautiful reviews and kindness you all have given me. Thank you all very much!(: now on with the chapter. Oh yeah, The chappie title is based off the song Lean on Me by Kirk Franklin and Nu Nation ..I have decided to give you guys a playlist to listen to while reading the chapters.(;**_

_**Lean on Me**_

"This seat taken?" the voice repeated. I opened my eyes to see Gear, my old friend, holding two drinks in his hand, smiling. I gave the two drinks a strange look as he chuckled. "You looked like you could've used a drink." I smiled and gestured for him to sit. He took the chair closest to me and set the drink down in front of me. His gaze immediately went up to the stage where Owl was singing.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I took a sip of it. It was very sweet and didn't taste alcoholic, more like coke. But it was too sweet to be coke. I liked it. "What is this?" I asked taking another sip.

"Cherry coke with pinch of sugar, I was gonna get you a beer but…"He looked over at me. "I remembered you didn't drink alcohol." This made me smile. Many of my friends didn't remember stuff like that but that was because I was the only one who never drank.

"Thank you." I said again. He answered with a smile and turned his whole body to face me. He was very tall, you could tell that even when he was sitting and was built larger than Spot. He was one of the most attractive guys I had ever met and also one of the kindest.

"So can I ask you somethin'?" he asked taking a sip of his drink.

"Go for it." I yelled over the music.

He leaned in towards me. "Why is a beautiful goil like youself, sittin' by youself on _your _birthday?" I bit my lip. He swished his long blonde bangs out of his eyes and sat back in his chair. I looked out at Spot. He was smiling and Water was playing with his hair. She leaned up to whisper something in his ear and his smile grew. "Caroline?" Gear said. His voice sounded far off, like he wasn't sitting next to me. I rubbed my temples again, my head hurt even worse. "Caroline!" he yelled grabbing my shoulder.

I shook myself out of the trance I was in and looked in his dark brown eyes. "What?" I asked.

"Youse okay?"

I shot another glance over to Spot, he wasn't smiling any more, and in fact he looked bored. It made me wonder…was I seeing things? I looked back over at Gear. "Yeah, just have a small head ache and I space out sometimes."

"Sorry." He whispered. "Here take a sip of this." He held out his drink. I lifted the glass to my lips and took a large swig. It tasted foul and I wanted to spit it out but instead I swallowed it and passed him back his beer.

"Blech, thanks." He smirked as we took a sip of our drinks at the same time and his gaze travelled back up to Owl. I smiled at the way he looked at her. It was like there was no one else in room.

"Can I tell you something Caroline? As a friend?" he asked not taking his eyes off of Owl. I nodded. He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. I waited patiently. "I'm retiring this year Caroline." He said brushing his bangs out of his eyes again. I felt my jaw drop. He was only seventeen, most leaders stayed until they were at least nineteen and not to mention he only became leader two years ago.

"Why?" I asked. Gear cannot give up being leader, I needed him for support! He was the greatest leader Harlem had had in a long time. He chuckled and took a sip of his drink.

"Cause me and Owl is getting married." Gear said excitedly. My eyes rounded and he chuckled again.

"Congratulations!" I yelled leaning over to give him a hug. Over his shoulder I saw Owl smiling and singing the last few notes of another one of her songs. She was truly beautiful. Her dark red hair went down past waist and she had a heart shaped face. That was when I noticed a small diamond resting on her left hand sparkling in the bright lights. I pulled back to look him in the eyes. "You two really deserve each other." I smiled softly at him.

"Thank you. She just makes me so happy." His smile grew as I sat back in my chair. He looked "In my opinion everyone deserves to be happy." He turned to me and looked in my eyes. He rested his hand on mine. "Especially you." His eyes moved towards Spot dancing with Water. My gut hurt and I couldn't tell if it was from my head ache or from watching Spot dancing with her. But then again, I guess that was the curse of being in a secret relationship.

Gear finished off his drink and winked at me. "Now if you would please excuse me."

He slowly stood up and headed over to the dance floor. He whispered something to Owl before making his way over to where Spot was dancing. The next thing I knew, he bowed to Water and took her away from Spot. Gear was dancing with Water…God I loved that man. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Spot give him a thankful smile and turned to face me.

He slowly began walking towards me. But not before McRae stepped in front of me and held out her hand. "May I have this dance?" she said in a low voice. I giggled and took her hand and she led me out to the dance floor. Spots jaw dropped. "Sorry, Conlon but she's mine tonight." We exchanged glances and started laughing, walking farther towards the center. I looked back at Spot, he was smiling and chuckling. He met my eyes quickly.

I mouthed _I love you. _He nodded his head and I turned back to face Angel, who rolled her eyes. "What?" I said nonchalantly. She giggled and we began dancing like there was no tomorrow. We were spinning and laughing so hard, that we fell down. We were like drunken kids who had never had a sip of alcohol in our lives. It was the best time I have had in a long time. However through all of the laughs, I looked over to Spot.

His dark blonde bangs were falling into his face as he laughed with Blitz. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. But then again, that was the curse of Spot Conlon…once you saw him, you couldn't take your eyes off of him.

"Common, get up lover goil." Angel hit the back of my head and helped me up. We danced for a few more minutes before Blink pulled her aside and then they began dancing. I walked over to the bar alone. I sat down on a bar stool and stared at the dancers.

I felt some one tap my shoulder from behind me. I turned around quickly to see the bar tender holding out a drink to me. "From the young man at the end of the bar." He turned around and began cleaning a glass as I craned my head over to see David wave at me. I lifted my glass to him and he smiled.

"Excuse me, may I have your fullest attention please?" Everyone in the room became silent and stopped dancing. Racetrack stood in the center of the stage. "Alright everyone, I would like you to give a huge round of applause to our lovely Owl for entertaining us most of the night!" Owl's face pinked and she looked down at her hands as everyone began to clap. It slowly began to die down and Racetrack began to speak once more. "Now please help me and welcoming the world famous," he paused for dramatic effect. "Miss Medda Larkson!"

The crowd began uproar. The boys whistled and cheered as Medda made her way out in a hot pink dress and a parasol in her hand. "Hello newsies! What's…new?" people laughed at her joke, I just simply rolled my eyes and headed over to a table where Racetrack was sitting. The table was full of boys swaying and looking up at Medda.

"Hey, there she is!" he yelled. He quickly stood up and pulled out my chair. As I sat down he kissed my cheek and he sat down as well. At the table there were more people than I had expected. Blink, Boots, Blitz all sat by me while Sarah, Les, Mush and McCrea all sat on the other side of the table. Finally, Spot was sitting at the end, silently staring off into space. I stared at him for a few moments and then turned to Medda who was about to start another verse.

_**Spot P.O.V**_

I sat at the end of the table listening to Meddas sweet voice ring though the hall. As long as I knew Medda, I had loved her voice almost as much as I loved her.

"'Help me,' he cried, 'or they'll give me the axe!'" She paused for a moment. "I said, 'Your Honor, you've got to relax ...'" I felt a pair of eyes on me the entire time she was singing. I looked over to see Caroline sitting next to Racetrack a few seats away from me. Racetrack looked over at me.

He mouthed something to me that I couldn't quite make out. Next thing I knew he stood up and walked over to my place and pulled out my chair. "Switch me." He mumbled. Before I could stand up, he threw me out of the chair and I landed on the ground with a small thud. A few muffled laughs came from the table but I stood up and looked them all over. They immediately silenced except for Caroline who was smirking.

I walked over to Caroline and sat down. Her hair was in looser curls now and her sleeves were rolled up and her two top buttons were undone. She was singing along with Medda with a huge smile on her face. Now that I thought about it, everyone at the table was singing. I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my drink. As I took the sip, Caroline looked over at me. She stopped singing and bit her lip. I put my drink down and brushed one of her bangs out of her eyes.

"Wanna finish our dance?" she whispered very lightly, so lightly I could barely understand her. I nodded as I leaned in and just as our lips were about to touch Racetrack grabbed Caroline by the wrist. Medda took her from Racetrack and began dancing with her.

I would be mad but seeing her smiling as big as she was, all my anger was gone. That was until I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see David with big eyes filled with fear.

"The bulls are here…"I felt everyone at the table gasp a little. "And they want Caroline." My head shot up to the stage where everyone was dancing and the song was finishing. She was in the center closest to Medda and Racetrack was blowing kisses to everyone.

"We gotta get her out of here." I said calmly looking back at David who nodded. Everyone else at the table promised to distract any one and help protect her in any way possible. Soon David and I met her up on stage.

_**Caroline's P.O.V.**_

"Caroline!" I heard someone call my name from the audience. I turned around to see David and Spot fighting through the crowd with concerned looks on their faces.

"Hey fellas!" I yelled giving David a hug as he came closer. He leaned in close to my ear.

"Snyder!" he yelled in my ear pointing out a tall man in the back by Denton. He was looking right at me with an evil grin on his face.

"Wese gotta go Caroline!" I heard Spot yell. I nodded and turned to Medda who was still dancing with Racetrack.

"Medda, thanks, but we gotta run! Watch Racetrack for me!" I yelled kissing her cheek. I turned around and was about to follow closely behind David and Spot before someone pulled me back. I spun around and had my fist ready to punch a cop but instead it was Racetrack. He wrapped me into a quick hug and kissed my forehead.

"Please be safe." He whispered. Spot and David pulled on my shirt urging for us to go. Racetrack let go of me and turned to Spot. "Promise me you are going to keep her safe."

"I promise. But if we wanna get her outta here, it has to be now!" Spot said nodding his head grabbing my free wrist. I pulled away and gave him another quick hug. Racetrack looked me eyes. They were scared and were filling with water. We both knew what would happen if I got caught, and it wasn't good.

"Fi în siguranţă sora mea draga. Te iubesc.*" He whispered before he ran back to Medda. I felt like my feet were glued to the ground. That was until David dragged me close to the door.

"We have to go…now!" David yelled as a whistles loud screech rang through the room.

* * *

**Alright, I know, I know, I promised action...sorry, the chappie just simply got to long:( But I do promise it will be the next one! Oh and for all you curious folk who wanna know what Racetrack said he said _Be safe my darling sister and I love you. _It is in Romanian. (: Alright, that is all for now(:**

**p.s. Oh and...you know, reveiws are always...you know, nice(:**


	16. Catch Me

_**So this is a really short chapter, sorry! I am not really proud of this one but I just want this over with lol. For the main reason of I want to get to the best part of this story(which is coming up)(: lol. Well, I shall let you go and read(: **_

_**Catch Me.**_

_**Caroline's P.O.V.**_

As the whistle blew, men surrounded the out skirts of the room. The music stopped and everyone started panicking. David and I exchanged glances and he ran over to Les and Sarah. "Go out the back!" David yelled to Les.

"I wanna stay with you!" Les yelled. David looked from Les to Sarah and then back down to his baby brother.

"You have to protect Sarah and get her home." Les eyes looked at Sarah. who gently rested her hands on his shoulders. He paused and then nodded. David pulled them both into a quick hug before he pushed them out of the doorway. Then he turned back to me his eyes, looked scared.

"You need to go with them!" I yelled over the mass amounts of screaming. He simply shook his head and his eyes now filling with courage.

"I go wherever you go." He yelled grabbing my hand. I smiled a little.

"Uh guys," Spot said. "I hate to break this up, but I dink we should find a way outta here!" I nodded and let go of David's hand. As I looked around the room I noticed the only safe place was near the swing on the stage. I grabbed David's and Spot's hands and bolted for the stage. While on the stage we could see the entire performing area.

A few guys tried to grab me by the waist and tried to pull me away. I kicked and through my fists around hoping to hit him or get free but it was no use. They carried me further away from the stage. "Get your crummy hands off of her!" Spot ran towards us and hit the guy in the eye. He let me go and I turned to help Spot but he pushed me away. "Go to David!" He punched the guy again as I ran over to join David next to the swing, which I soon found out I shouldn't have. In front of us Snyder was looking me up and down.

Just as he was about step forward, David got on the swing. "Push me!" He sat on the swing and I pushed him. His feet hit Snyder's chest causing him to tumble back and fall into the crowd. Spot came to my side and held my hand. David looked back at me and his face became stern. "Get her outta here now!"

Before I could object, he turned around with the swing in his hand like a bat and others made a line in front of us. Spot pulled my hand hard, pulling me in a different direction, toward the door.

Just as we were going to reach the door, we were cut off by a very large bulls and a member of the Crib holding a chain. We stopped dead in our tracks. "Hey there beautiful, we've been looking for you!" The man with a chain stepped towards me. "It's alright fellas I got this one." The bull was already chasing after some other newsie that stepped on his foot.

"Hey look up there!" I pointed to the ceiling and he looked up. I punched him in the throat and Spot hit him behind the knee causing him to double over in pain. "Sorry!" I said as we ran out the door, laughing. The door led out to an area close to the stairs and the door. Spot and I exchanged glances and ran for the door. And then, I did something really stupid…I tripped over my skirt.

I landed face first, bringing Spot down with me. "Dammit." I mumbled under breath. My hands were trembling trying to free my legs from the fabric which had wrapped itself around my legs. "Its stuck!" I looked up at him in desperation. He quickly picked me up and ran to a room under the stairs. I tried fiddling with my skirt again when he put me down. It was no use, it was stuck.

"Got any personal attachment to this skirt?" he flipped open his switch blade and I shook my head. He stuck the blade into my skirt and the seams slowly ripped. He was panting, we had been running for a while now.

"Breath Spot." I whispered. I lifted his chin up with my finger and made him look in my eyes. "I got this." He flipped his blade closed and sat down. That was when I noticed something was missing. "Where's your cane?"

"Blitz has it." He said looking out at the mass chaos of people running around. I shrugged and reached down to my skirt. From where he started to cut I managed to get on my feet and tear it off just above my knees. I silently apologized to Medda as I noticed Spot smirking.

"What?" I asked.

"Anyone ever tell you that you got some nice legs." I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"Only you would say something like that as a time like this." He returned the smile and held my hand.

"There you are doll face." We turned our heads to see Meyers smirking at me, in his hands he held a rope. He took a few steps toward me and Spot stepped in front of me protectively. He flipped his knife back open.

"You gotta get through me first." he growled through a clenched jaw. Spot had his knife down at his side. Meyers sneered and lifted up his foot to take another step forward. However before he could move any closer someone kicked him in the back and caused him to fall forward at our feet.

McRae stood in front of us, wiping her hands. "Y'all looked like you coulda used some help." She giggled.

"I had it handled." Spot mumbled. McRae rolled her eyes as Spot and I stepped out of our hiding place. The second we stepped out, a whistle blew and we spun around to see a bull staring at us. "Shit…" he mumbled. He turned towards Angel and mumbled something else. Then he turned to me.

"Promise me, you won't look back." I nodded, I could tell by the tone of his voice, he wasn't taking no for an answer. The bull started running towards us and Angel grabbed my hand and pulled me over.

Spot stepped aside as well and the bull tripped. Just as the bull was about to turn around, Spot met him face with a right hook. The bull punched him back in the stomach making Spot bend over in pain. Then he got punched in the face. That was when the big brawl started and the bull easily pinned Spot to the ground and he looked over at me. His cheek was bruising and his eyes looked tired. He winked at me.

"No." I whispered. I pushed myself closer to him but Angel closed her hand tighter on my wrist and pulled me back. I turned to her, my eyes pleading her to let me go to him. She simply shook her head. I turned back to him and he butted the bull in the head and flipped over so he pinned down the cop. "Go now Angel!" he yelled.

"Common!" She yelled yanking my arm. I didn't move. Instead I just stood there staring at Spot. He hit the guy again and his eyes traveled up to mine again. Our eyes locked for a second before I felt another tug on my arm. "Caroline! We need to go!" He nodded his head and I saw a single tear roll down his cheek. I mouthed the words_ I love you _and let myself go with Angel.

We ran towards the door and I did as Spot told me, I never looked back. When we got outside there were just as many bulls as there were inside. Except this time, they were on horses…wonderful. They were hitting boys who were trying to escape or chasing after them. We slowly attempted to go back but we were abruptly stopped.

We looked up and saw a man as he was reaching down. He grabbed my hair and tugged really hard, lifting me off of the ground. "Let go!" I screamed. I threw my fist back and made contact with something because I was let go and the man yelped in pain. I hit the ground with a thump and looked up to see blood spurting from the guy's nose.

Suddenly a pair of hands rested on my shoulders and spun me around. I turned to see Angel with an extremely bruised knuckle and a cut on her cheek. "Run." she yelled picking me up.

"I'm not leaving you." I responded. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah you are!" She pushed me back into the door and shut it behind me. Everyone seemed even more frantic now than they had before, it was scary. I ran towards the stairs and began taking them two by two. _Please, please make everyone okay…_My mind wandered to Racetrack. _Don't let him get caught! _

"Caroline, look out!" I was pulled out of my trance at the sound of David's voice. Before I could see him, I felt something make contact with my jaw_. _And then, everything went black.


	17. Caught

_**Hey everyone, I am sorry that I haven't updated in a while but I am busy!(: **_

_**Caught**_

_**Spot's P.O.V.**_

"All rise, all rise,"The bailiff said walking out from the back room.

"We're already standin'." I mumbled. As I gave Racetrack a high five, the boys chuckled and the bailiff glared at me. I smirked and shrugged. He turned back towards the front of the room and cleared his throat.

"As I was saying," he began again. "Court is now in session. Judge E.A. Monahan is now presiding." I looked over at Racetrack and he had the same concerned expression I did. This was the judge who tried mine and Caroline's first encounter with the law, the one who through her in the refuge and me in a boy's home. He was an older man with a mustache and very bushy sideburns, who was not so kind and forgiving as he came off to be.

He slowly made his way to the stand and sat down. I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach._ Would he remember me? It was nearly nine years ago…_"Alrigh', are any of you boys represented by council." His eyes weren't on us though, they were on papers that were on his desk. We all looked at each other with odd expressions. He looked at us over his papers, cleared his throat and pushed the papers aside. "Good that should move things along considerably."

Racetrack and I exchanged glances and I brushed my bangs out of my eyes. "Hey, yer honor, I object!" I yelled. The judge looked down at me and I felt some one shove me from behind. I glanced over my shoulder to see Blitz glaring at me. I shrugged my shoulders and turned back to the judge.

"On what grounds?" he asked crossing his arms while leaning back in his chair.

I brushed my bangs back again and casually, but still with some authority, said, "On the grounds of Brooklyn." I smirked. The boys began to crack up but quickly stifled there laughs when he hit the hammer thing against the podium. Race put his hand on my shoulder and I turned my attention to the judge. He looked me up and down and then smirked.

"Hmm, your name's Conlon right?" All of the boys silenced and my smirk fell. I had hoped he wouldn't remember me, he was never fond of me. He leaned back in his chair and chuckled slightly to himself. "How did I know I would be seeing you again?" he chuckled once more and cleared his throat. "How's that little girl you came in with, what was her name again? Celes…"

"Caroline." Racetrack and I said in unison quickly. He lifted his eye brows and opened his mouth to protest but quickly changed his mind. I let out a small sigh and relaxed a little.

"I have decided what I am going to do with you boys." he gave a devilish smile, like he was a little kid who did something really bad. "I fine each of you five dollars," behind me I felt all of the boys tense up, "Or.." they loosed a tiny bit, "Two weeks confinement in the House of Refuge." We all groaned.

"Yer honor…" Racetrack said pushing his sleeves up. He looked nervous and sad but he kept his cool. "Wese don't got five bucks…hell we don't even have five cents." He straightened up a little and rested his arm on the podium. "How about I roll ya for it? Double or nuttin'?" At this all the boys burst out laughing and the judge hit his hammer against the podium again.

"Move along, fellas." A couple of bulls pushed us out of a gate that we were in. They were here to take us to the refuge because the judge already knew none of us could pay the fines. We were doomed. Just as I stepped out of the gate, the door screeched open. Our heads flew in that direction and we saw David and Denton stepping in.

"Your Honor, I will pay the fines. All of them." Denton pulled out his wallet and walked over to the clerk while David made his way towards us.

"Hey fellas, looks like you guys got yourselves in a fix." He laughed.

"Ha ha ha, you're hilarious Mouth." I mumble lifting up the lock to the gate. He smiled and shrugged, patting my back. I noticed his eyes were on the boys that were filing out of our small confinement we had been placed in. "Who ya lookin' for Mouth?" I asked.

"Caroline…" he said stretching out his neck and standing on his toes. Racetrack pulled him down to our level.

"She aint in here Davey." Race said frowning slightly. We hadn't seen her all day and that worried us. Race almost had a panic attack before we got tried. She was all he had left and if he lost her…I think Race would lose it.

"Why not?" David asked pulling his attention to us. I exchanged glances with Race and he nodded.

"Cause she's a goil. They get tried differently…" I said putting my hat on my head. "Angel and Owl got tried this mornin'. They both got off easy with a two dollar fine, but that is because this is their first time in court. Caroline is a returning felon so she had to go separately."

"I thought you were too?" David asked. Denton appeared next to David, he looked upset.

"We need to talk, tell everybody to meet at the restaurant." Denton said biting his lip. I nodded and silently thanked him for not letting me give an answer to David's question.

"Can you please move along?" Judge Monahan yelled to us. We rolled our eyes as the bailiff led us over to a table in the far corner. Once we were over there I sat down next to David with Race on my other side. Denton stood by the wall, looking down at the ground.

"Please bring in the next case while I take a short recess." The judge yelled. I held my breath as the door next to us opened quickly and two very large men brought out Caroline. When she came out she had a frown on her lips and her eyes looked tired. Her hair was everywhere and she was still wearing the same outfit as last night, the only thing that had changed about her was a bruise just under her chin. It was about the size of a large fist and was a very deep purple. I clenched my fists, swearing to her I would find out who did it and personally kill him.

She looked over at us for the first time and a smile played across her lips. "Hey fellas!" she yelled. We all immediately stood up and went over to her. We were separated by a small fence but if you just leaned over a little, you could smell her sweet scent or touch her soft skin. I was half tempted but the two men standing by her glared at me, so I decided against it.

"Hey ya sissy, nice shiner." Racetrack jokingly responded. He was trying to lighten the mood, but he was just as nervous as everyone else. She giggled as if she didn't have a care in the world but she had more than any of us.

"Yeah I thought so too but then I decided purple isn't really my color." We all chuckled with her and for a brief second while we were laughing, our eyes connected. She stopped laughing and gave a soft smile before turning back to the men that were standing beside her. "Um, would you mind giving them something for me?" she batted her eyes and gave a sweet smile.

They exchanged glances and the stronger of the two answered, "What?"

"My bracelet and the hair clip in my hair please." they took them from her and handed them to Race. Immediately after that, they stood straight up and began acting tough again. "Thank you." She turned to Denton. "Hey Denton, I guess we made all the papes this time right?" she waited for his answer but when she didn't respond, she gave a nervous laugh. "So how'd me pitcha look?"

The judge took the stand once more and he motioned for the trial to begin. "Case of Caroline Higgins. Inciting a riot, assault, and resisting arrest." The bailiff yelled.

Denton ran his fingers through his hair. "None of the papes covered the rally…not even the sun." Her face dropped and the two men pushed her towards the podium. When she got up there the judge looked down at her.

"Are you represented by anyone?" he asked. She started to shake her head but was stopped by someone clearing their throat in the back of the room.

"I will represent this young girl." We all spun around to see Snyder, smiling at her. She looked at me, her eyes were begging for help. All I could do was stand there as he walked up and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Warden Snyder, please just move this along." Monahan said rolling his eyes.

"I see you two know each other, aint that lovely." I heard her mumble. Snyder pushed her away and smirked up at the judge.

"This girl's real name is Celestina Minuet Higgins. Her mother is deceased of an illness and her father is in the state penitentiary for abuse and molesting a minor." I saw Caroline put her head down, she was gonna cry. No one knew her real name except for me and Racetrack or the reason she became a newsie. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw David tense up and clench his fists. Snyder looked down at Caroline and smiled as he continued. "She was sentenced three years in the house of refuge for assaulting an officer…" Caroline's head shot up and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"He was hurting an innocent kid! He was hurting one of my newsies!" She yelled. Snyder didn't stop there though.

"Then added another six months for theft…"

"I was only stealing back what you stole from us kids there." She said through clenched teeth. He didn't even bat an eye as he looked her straight in the eyes.

"Followed by another three months for attempted escape…"

"Attempted?" she said. Her voice was shaky, I could tell she was going to break down any minute. She had held it together so long but I don't think she could do it much longer. Tears were streaming down her face. "The last time wasn't attempted. No, no, no, I got out alright. So don't you say that it was attempted."

"And for those reasons I ask that she be returned to us," he shot back at her.

"For my own good, right? For my own damn good? Move along, court adjourned. " She grumbled. The judge's jaw dropped a little at her but Snyder's smile got more evil every second.

"I ask the court to order her incarceration until the age of twenty-one, in hope that we may yet guider her to a happy productive life." Snyder finally finished. The judge looked from him to Caroline.

"So ordered!" he yelled.

"No!" Racetrack screamed. The two men that had brought her in here came back and picked her up. She shook herself free from one of them but the other one had to strong of a grip.

"Spot!" she yelled. I pushed myself over the fence but I felt some one grab my arms pulling me back. David held my arms back as I tried to get to her. For a new newsie, he was rather strong. He held me back until they had Caroline back through the doors. My blood began to boil even more.

She was gone and this time, they were going to lock her up forever. That was unless, we broke her out.

_**Thanks for reading! It means soo much to me that you took time for this story…but may I ask a favor of you good people? A small tiny review is always nice(: They make me wanna update quicker! Lol. Thanks again!**_


	18. Pushing Me Away

_**Where are you my dear reviewers? I feel sad that you have left me… :( Okay, I also know that Spot left the restaurant before this scene even started but hey, its my story, I can break the rules!(: Read and Review!**_

**Pushing Me Away**

"_I've tried like you  
to do everything you wanted too  
this is the last time  
I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you."_

**Spots P.O.V.**

"You want another one Spot?" Frank asked. I was sitting by myself in the far corner, staring down at my drink that I hadn't even took a single sip of yet. I slowly shook my head. He began to walk away but turned back around and put his hand on my shoulder. "She'll be okay. She is a tough kid."

"Yeah, I know." I mumbled. He gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and walked away. For the most part the restaurant was quiet, you could only hear the mumbling of a few voices but that is about it. We have been here for about an hour now, waiting for Denton to show up. The bell above the door jingled and David walked in with a paper in his hand. He looked furious.

I stared at him for a moment as he made his way over to the booth I was sitting. "Everythin' alright Davey?" Racetrack asked as he sat down beside me and patted my shoulder. He slid the paper over to me and snatched my drink from my hand. I watched him tip his head back and drink it all in a single gulp. Racetrack whistled and turned his attention to the paper.

"You know, I figured Denton was joking when he said the rally didn't make the papes…" David grumbled. "So I went out and bought one, and guess what?" he wiped his forehead of the sweat particles that had emerged. "No stinkin' story about us!" he yelled this as he slammed his fists on the table. This got the entire restaurants attention. It was completely silent and everyone was staring.

"Nothin' to see here people, go back to your eating and conversations." Race announced to the restaurant. He then quietly added, "Maybe there is a reason he didn't write it Davey. Just wait to ask him till he gets here."

"He better." David mumbled under his breath, leaning back in the booth.

_Ding, ding._

Our eyes went to the door and in walked in Denton. His head was down and he was holding his jacket over his shoulders. Once more the restaurant quieted and all the heads turned to face Denton. After a few moments of completely silence, he looked up. He looked surprise as if he wasn't sure where he was or supposed to be. "Hey boys." he said with a small smile as he hung up his coat.

No one responded and his smile fell. David and I exchange glances and he stood up, grabbing the paper. He began to walk closer to Denton. "So, why didn't the Sun print the story?" David asked, throwing the paper down in front of Denton.

Denton ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Because it never happened."

The room quickly filled with yelling and screaming. "What do you mean it didn't happen! You were there!" Mush yelled from across the room.

"If it's not in the papers, then it never happened…"Denton said calmly.

"Oh yeah, because the papers run everything in this damn city!" Racetrack yelled from beside me. He stood up and crossed his arms. "You were there Denton, you know it happened."

Denton shook his head. All of the boys in the restaurant once again began yelling things and starting a fight. My blood began to boil. "Why are you denying it?" I asked in a low voice. The restaurant quieted once more. "We all know it happened..." I reached into my shirt and pulled out my necklace and held it tightly in my hand. "Caroline knows it happened." I looked Denton straight in his eyes, but his head quickly dropped. "And she is the only one that is suffering for it." Everyone shifted awkwardly and I got closer to Denton. But instead of only addressing him, I spoke to the entire room.

"She is the refuge for at least five years…and even if she escapes, they'll look for her." I brushed my hair out of my eyes. "Just think about that fellas while you're all sitting here eating you food and getting out of a jail sentence because Denton paid for ya. I guess that was his way of butterin' us up before we found out there was no stinkin' story!" I walked over to the corner and sat down in the chair Racetrack pulled out for me. No one spoke, no one moved, no one did anything for what felt like hours but couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

Denton lifted his head and looked over at me. "I wrote the story Spot." Denton said. "I came here to give it to you boys and…" he paused. "Well, I came to tell you fellas good bye."

I looked up at Racetrack, who looked just as surprised as everyone else in the room. Denton's lips where in a small frown and his eyes sad. David stood up. "What happened?" his voice was soft. "Did you get fired or somethin'?" David didn't sound mad but more so concerned now.

Denton wiped the hair off of his forehead and sighed. "No, I, um, got reassigned." He smiled, trying to bring up the mood. "I got my old job back as the Sun's ace war correspondent. They want me to leave right away. So wish me luck boys…at least of what half I wish for you boys." He walked over to David and put his hand on his shoulder. "You don't always get fired." David shrugged him off and turned away from him. "I would be black balled from every paper in the country…" he reached out for him again but pulled away. "I'm a newspaper man, I need a paper to write for."

He turned towards the door and reached for his hat. He gently put it on and put his hand in his pocket. "Oh, this is for you fellas…" In his outstretched hand was a piece of paper. "It's the real story I wrote…I want you to read it at least." He was holding it out to David, who turned around after he thought Denton was leaving. David looked at the paper and took it. He headed towards the door again and gave Frank money. "This should cover all their meals." Frank shook his head no, but Denton insisted.

He was half way out the door when he turned back again one last time. Only this time, he looked right at me. "And Spot, I am truly sorry about Caroline. I went back and tried to get her out, that's why I was late." I glared at him. He bowed his head and left the restaurant.

David looked down at his hand and crumpled the paper Denton had given him. We were all silent as David held his head low. Racetrack got up and put his hand on David shoulder. His head shot up causing Race to stumble back. "Were breaking Caroline outta the refuge tonight." His voice was strong, like a leader. "From now on, we trust no one but the newsies." He said sternly. "Now let's make a plan."

A mass group of boys surrounded him as they talked in hushed voices trying to make a plan. I still sat in the corner by myself with my head in my hands, thinking of my own ideas. "Spot?" I looked up to see Les standing in front of me.

"Hey kid."

"Don't you wanna help get Caroline out?" he asked questionably. I nodded. "Then why aren't you over there with the other guys?"

"Cause I got my own ideas." I mumbled.

"What kinda ideas?" he asked again.

"None that concern others, so please go away while I'm thinkin'." I tried to say as nicely as possible. He just shrugged and turned and walked away.

_We've done it before Caroline, we can do it again._

**Thanks for reading! Now all you have to do is press that pretty little review button at the bottom, you know, the blue one!(: **


	19. The Last Night

**I just want to start off this chapter to say thank you to all of my constant reviewers! (: you guys mean the world to me!**

**Chapter 19: The Last Night**

"_I just came to say goodbye_

_I didn't want you to see me cry, I'm fine_

_But I know it's a lie."_

**David's P.O.V.**

"Alright, so that's the window we saw Crutchy." I looked up to the top corner of the brick building that was in front of us.

"They'll keep her in a separate room." Racetrack mumbled. "Trust me, I had to visit her…" he whispered. His voice was sad, I'm sure he was having a worse time than any of us. After all, this is the second time he has had his sister be taken away from him. "She'll be up there." He pointed to the opposite corner.

"Okay, then that's where she'll be." I turned to Blink and the rest of the group. "Got the rope Blink?" he lifted it off of his shoulder and smiled. I nodded and gestured for them to follow me but quickly I got pulled back. I turned around to see Spot looking at the gate intently, "What the hell?"

"I would stay back unless you feel like joinin' her in the refuge." he said. To prove what he meant, he pointed at the increasing amount of guards at the gate. _Why would they double like that? _That is when I saw two more guards carrying out a girl with dark brown hair. After a second of looking, I realized it was Caroline.

"Its Caroline!" Les yelled. "Look fellas, its Caroline!" he yelled a little louder and Racetrack put his hand over his mouth as we all turned to shush him.

"Where are they taking her?" Mush asked. I looked back at Spot, his eyes were filling with tears. He swiped them away quickly before anyone else could see.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." I said. "Race, watch Les for me." He nodded, resting his hands on Les's shoulders. I looked at Spot again. "You wanna come with me?"

He shook his head no almost immediately. "If you do get to talk to her, can you tell her that I love her…"I felt a nervous feeling in my stomach increase. Up until now, I knew she had been Spot's, but it still hurt to hear. I nodded and ran as fast as I could to the carriage.

**Caroline's P.O.V.**

I sat in between Snyder and a guard. _Yeah, like I would totally run from a moving carriage…_at this thought I chuckled slightly. Snyder glared at me and I stopped and looked down at my cuffed hands. I hated the way the metal felt against my skin, it was so cold that it felt like it was burning.

I shifted uncomfortably. "We're here." Snyder said in a stern voice. I looked up in front of me to see a giant mansion that was larger than two lodging house put together. My jaw dropped a little but I put it back into place.

"Get her inside." A man with grey hair said to us in a stern voice. Snyder grabbed my arm and threw me out of the carriage.

"Ow, be careful, I'm fragile." I mumbled. He pushed me harder towards the door causing me to trip over the steps. "Or not…" I stood up and made my way through the door with Snyder pushing me every step of the way.

When we entered the house, I felt my jaw drop again. It was beautiful. It was carpeted wall to wall and chandeliers were on the ceiling. One of the crystals on it probably cost more than all of the money I had saved up in the five years I have been a newsie. Then suddenly I was dragged into a different room and thrown into a chair.

"Don't touch anything," Snyder said sternly as he removed the handcuffs from my wrists. He turned to leave and then turned back gave me a warning glare and then left. _Wow he thinks he is badass._ I rolled my eyes and got up from where I was sitting.

My eyes wandered throughout the room. The floor was red carpeted, and it was very light in the room for how dark it was outside. I looked up at the clock, it was only 8:30 in the evening. I let out a small sigh and walked over to the far wall. It was filled with black and white pictures, mostly of men with guns slung over their shoulders and hard faces.

"The one on the right is me." I jumped and spun around. In front of me was Joseph Pulitzer, my employer, in a satin red robe and a pair of striped pajamas. He came to my side and looked at the picture as I looked at him.

His years did not treat him well. His hair was thinning and his beard was turning grey. Under his eyes, there were wrinkles , thick wrinkles. By the looks of him, he could easily be a grandpa I never had.

"I was your age in that picture…" I didn't take my eyes off of his old face. "I was fighting in the war then." He turned to me. "Do you know which war?" he asked me as if he was asking a little kid.

I rolled my eyes and gave a small smile. "No sir, I don't know anything about no war." I responded sarcastically. His eyes grew dark and the smirk he held, fell.

"Don't talk to me like that. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" he mumbled.

"Yeah she did, well she tried, you know…before she died." I said. His face still looked as hard as stone, showing no sympathy towards my situation. He was still staring at the picture like he was deep in thought. I ran my fingers through my hair and rolled my eyes slightly.

Then he turned to me and then walked over to a chair. "Sit." he gestured to the chair next to him.

"Nah, no thanks, I prefer to stand." I said with a smirk plastered on my face and I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall. He let out a frustrated sigh and clenched his fist but then he loosened and composed himself.

"You're a smart girl, aren't you Caroline." he said in a calm voice. I shrugged and cocked my eyebrow. "I mean, you can read and write, which are skills most newsies can't do." I shifted awkwardly.

"What are you trying to get at?" I asked. He leaned back in his chair and rested his hands on his crossed legs. His glassy blue eyes fixed themselves on my emerald ones. I turned away and looked at a random speck on the floor.

"I have a proposition for you Ms. Higgins." he finally stated. I looked up and our eyes met. He wasn't joking, I could see it in his eyes. This made me all the more confused. I felt my smirk fall as did my arms. _Why would someone like him, wanna make a deal with someone like me..?_

"And what would that be?" He stood up and took a step toward me.

"Well, as you know, I have the ability to make you stay in the Refuge…"

"And I have the ability to break right out again." I said my smirk returning.

"Or," he responded, "I can see you released tomorrow, free and clear, with more money in your pockets than you make in…ehh, about three lifetimes."

My smirk fell once more. This caught my attention, but there had to be a catch. "What's the catch?" I asked. He simply laughed as if it were some sort of joke.

"No catch. I just want to ensure you have a safe future set for a bright young girl like yourself." He smiled. I cocked my eyebrow again.

"Yeah, well I have two futures I need to be thinking about and that is mine and my little brothers. So thanks for the offer Joe but I best be going now." I spun around and began to head towards the door.

He cleared his throat just as my hand reached out for the door. "It would be a damn shame if for those boys of yours to suffer through prison and the refuge…" I stopped dead in my tracks but my hand didn't leave the door handle. "What's that partner's name of yours, David, right? He has a family correct?" I stood there silently feeling my eyes sting. "Or your little brother…Anthony, correct? Well he could always join you."

My anger was boiling over. I felt like smacking him but I still stood perfectly still. I took a deep breath before I spun around to face him. "They tough kids…they'll be okay." I said through my clenched teeth even though they were chattering. His face got red and he stepped toward me. I backed into the door.

"How about that young Brooklyn boy?" I felt my heart sink a little, "I understand he is an escapee like you, in fact you were in there together, no? What did they say his name was?" he scratched his chin in deep though. "Something Conlon."

"Spot." I said inaudible. "You wouldn't dare." he smirked and chuckled. My eyes stung even worse and now the tears were becoming larger and as they were about to spill over my eyelids, a thought popped into my head. Why would he be doing this if he didn't have anything to worry about? He was scared. I chuckled slightly as well and he stopped.

"Why are you laughing girl?" his teeth were clenched now.

"We must have you scared pretty bad old man." I said, sizing myself up to him. I would stand my ground no matter what. His face became the color of a ripe tomato.

"I offer you freedom and money just to have you come work for me again! Either you take this offer or spend the rest of your life running. You can't win. So I would stand with me and end this damn strike, otherwise I will make sure you will fight a battle you can never win." he turned around and went back to his chair. I opened my mouth but he cut me off. "Go back to the refuge tonight, sleep on it, and give me an answer in the morning."

At that, I ran out of the room, towards the entrance. When I reached the entrance, I wiped my tears away. I usually never cry except for when I someone dies or I get utterly pissed off…this is one of those times when I am utterly pissed off. I took a deep breath and shoved open the door to find Snyder waiting for me with a pair of handcuffs and sly smile.

As I held my arms out, I heard someone moving by the carriage. I looked over to see David. "Caroline! Common!" he motioned for me to join him. I pushed Snyder back into the man who "welcomed" us and they fell to the ground. I hopped on the stone railing and slide down, and jumped off to meet David. We ran out of the gates as Snyder screamed "Get her!"

The horses whinnied and began sprinting towards us…but the carriage didn't. David gave me a half smirk half smile as he held out a bolt that I assumed held everything on the carriage together. We ran faster as I gave a small giggle.

By the time we got far enough away, I pulled him into an alley. I slowly made myself stop and David gave me a strange look. "Common, we gotta go." he came up to me and tried to grab my arm but I pulled it away from him. Hurt crossed his face as if I just smacked him.

I wiped my sweat off of my forehead, "You shouldn't have done this Dave." I said shaking my head. He tried to grab my arm again but instead I grabbed his outstretched one and pinned him to the brick wall behind us. "They could throw you in jail David."

"I don't care," he said as if that wasn't terrible. Too bad he doesn't know the truth that jail isn't anywhere close to fun. He tried to push me back but I didn't budge. He looked shocked seeing as I was about nearly a foot shorter than him.

"David, I do care. I'm not gonna let you get thrown in prison because of me." I whispered. I moved out of his way and pushed him down the alley. "Now get outta here." He opened his mouth to argue but I cut him off, "What would your family do with you in jail?" his face dropped. "Now get outta here!" he opened his mouth again but quickly shut and he ran off.

I watched him turn the corner before I let myself go back to Pulitzer's mansion. In my head, I was singing my mom once sung to me, the words were fuzzy but I sang what I remembered;

_Santa Fe, My old friend_

_I can't spend my whole life hidin'_

_You're the only light that's guidin' me today…_


	20. Santa Fe

**Chapter 20: Santa Fe**

"_You're my chance to break free _

_And who knows when my next one will be _

_Santa Fe,_

_Wait for me."_

"Get in there." Snyder pushed me into a cell lit only by a single gas lamp. He unlocked my handcuffs. I immediately grabbed my wrist to rub it but before I could finish rubbing them, he threw a single blanket in my hands. He rolled his eyes and then slammed the door behind me. At first glance at the room, it wasn't much more than what I had at the lodging house.

There was a bed against on wall and a table, holding the gas lamp, leaning against the same wall. And that was pretty much it, well beside a pot in the farthest corner. It wasn't my old room, it was colder and darker. I didn't really like it very much, in a matter of fact; I should have just stayed hidden in the alley instead of going back to Snyder after an hour walk around New York.

I threw the blanket down on my bed and went over and looked out the window. It was cool out tonight but the wind was barely coming in from the window that was open. It was barred from the outside. I hated being caged like an animal, it was worse than being in handcuffs.

I let out a small sigh and went over to the wall closest to the window. It was a small space between my bed and the wall that the window was one. I slid down the wall and held my knees up to my chest. I liked small places, I'm not sure why. My theory was that I had to hide so much as a child that I become used to it.

The wall was cold against my head as it gently rested against it. My mind was racing with thoughts. About the choice that Pulitzer had given me. All of my options didn't really have the greatest endings to them. The first one would be that I stay in the refuge until I'm 21 and most likely be thrown in the State penitentiary for some bizarre reason that I knew Snyder could come up with. That option would mean being away from Racetrack, my boys and most importantly, Spot.

My second option was run away, find a way to break out again. But even though that would be a good option for me, it wasn't for everyone else. David and Racetrack and probably Mush and a few other boys would be thrown away for a long time. Spot would probably be put away for a longer time then them. So that option was definitely out of the question.

My final option was Pulitzer's way. I would become a newsie again and have as much money as I wanted. I could get out of New York and go to Santa Fe with Racetrack and maybe Spot. That is if they still liked me. With this option, I would lose everything and everyone because I would be going against the very force that I started. My friends would all leave me because I wanted to be free.

"Psst, Caroline!" my thoughts were interrupted by Crutchy's voice coming through the little slot on my door. I got up with a small smile and met him by the door.

"Hey Crutch, its nice to see a friendly face." I said looking through the small slot. He was smiling right back at me. His smile grew when he placed down a small round brown thing on the slot.

I picked it up and realized it was a baked potato. "A potato?" I asked holding it up.

"I figured they didn't feed ya yet so I stole dis off of Snyder's tray for ya." I smiled and peeled off the skin with my fingers. I bit into like an apple and it tasted delicious for not eating anything all day. Nothing like Tibbys baked potatoes, but it would work, "He got the biggest one, Caroline. He was eatin' good tonight. He got all of the good stuff we don't never get," he paused for a moment while the sparkle in his eye grew. "He had potato, olives, liver, and sauerkraut…" he started to drool slightly. But he perked up and wiped the drool from his mouth, "And guess what I did to his sauerkraut, huh?"

I rolled my eyes and smirked, "So, how long did it get ya?"

"Ehh, anudder couple of months probably," I rolled my eyes again and got up and went over to my bed. On my way over I threw my potato skin out the window, "But youse can't let them beat your Caroline, that's what you're always telling us."

I looked over at him and brushed my hair out of my face. "Wese was beaten when we were born Crutch." I said with a small sigh.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a small voice.

"It means no matter what we do Crutchy, we always loose. Got that?" I half said, half yelled. I heard him give a little squeak but he shut his mouth. "Can you just leave me alone please? I'm really tired and need to think." Without another word, he shut the slot. I heard the echo of his crutch hitting the floor going down the hallway. Once the sound was completely gone, I pulled my pillow up to my head and pressed it hard as I screamed.

A minute or so later, I pulled it away and my eyes were watery. I wiped away the forming tears. All I needed right now was sleep. The cops that held me this morning got me up at 5:30 in the morning even though my hearing wasn't until like twelve hours later. They figured I would wanna look pretty when all they gave me was a brush.

I looked out the window from my bed and my mind went back to my options. I needed to decide tonight or any deal he had offered me would be gone. _Do what is best for Racetrack…_that was the main thought that went into the decision making. He was number one concern. I had promised my mother on her death bed I would always take care of him. I can't break that promise.

But I would think more about it when I got more sleep.

It was starting to get cold out but I didn't want to get up to close the window. I snuggled under my blanket, not even bothering to change out of my skirt into the pants that they gave me. Right when I shut my eyes, a single tear rolled down my cheek as my mother's lullaby rang through my head, lulling me to sleep.

_Okay, so this chapter was going to be so long! Ergo, I split it into two parts(: I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but it's Easter weekend, so I may have a little extra time to write!(: Yay! Well till next time, always weigh your options…but one option you don't have is leaving me a lovely review!(: -Caroline Conlon_


	21. Love Story

**Written while listening to: If Your James Dean, Then I'm Audrey Hepburn by Sleeping with Sirens**

**Hey guys! Sorry this took so long! I was in the hospital:/ so I'm gonna keep this short because its a long chapter!(: So PLEASE review(:**

**Chapter 21: Love Story**

"_We keep quiet cause were dead if they knew,_

_Close your eyes_

_Escape this town for a little while."_

I woke up later that night to something playing with my hair. My body stilled and I didn't move a muscle. The thing kept running his fingers through my hair and slowly caressed my face. I knew the touch, it made me feel safe and warm. I let my eyes open into slits to see the glow of the moonlight streaming through my window, shadowing the figure that was sitting before me. I opened my eyes all the way and the hand pulled back.

Sitting up, I tried to get a clearer look but still only saw a shadow. "Who are you?" I asked sitting up. The body didn't move but I still couldn't see anything.

"Sorry," a deep but soft voice whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you honey." Immediately, without seeing the face, I knew who it was.

"Spot?" I whispered. I reached out to touch his face. When I rested it on his cheek, his hand came up and met mine.

"Hey beautiful." he whispered again. I felt my body go into shock as I threw myself forward into his arms. He wrapped his arms warmly around me and held me close.

"What are you doing here?" I asked shoving my face deeper into his shoulder as I felt my eyes tear up.

"What do youse think I'm doin' here?" he asked. He kissed the top of the forehead and ran circles on my back. We sat in silence for a long time. I didn't want this moment to end. I had been craving his hug for hours and now that he was here, I couldn't believe it wasn't a dream.

Just to make sure, I lifted my arm to my other arm behind his back and pinched myself. "Ouch..." I whispered. Spot pushed me back and smirked.

"Did you just pinch yourself?" he asked in a sarcastic frustrated voice. I smiled as he brushed the bangs out of my face. "You're so odd." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah but that's why you love me." I said cutely, bating my eyes. He chuckled and stood up. He walked over to the side of my bed and took a long look at the lamp.

"When you were little, this would have to be lit at all times…"he said more to himself than to me. He then turned to me, "Or you would have made me crawl into bed with you." he whispered. I smiled and felt my cheeks grow hot.

"I remember…" I whispered. I brushed my hair behind my ear, looking over my shoulder at him. "Well, I'm still a little afraid of the dark…" I mumbled sheepishly. He chuckled again.

"Only youse Caroline." he said smirking. Our eyes met and held the gaze for a long time. His eyes were being lit up by the moon, which made them look even more amazing than usual. Looking into those eyes was the one thing in this world that I could always have. He would always be there for me. "Oh," he said suddenly pulling me out of my trance. "Youse asked me why I was here, right?" Before I could answer he ran over to the door and picked something up.

"Race and I figured since youse might be in here awhile," he placed my huge brown suitcase on my bed. "That you would like some stuff from home." he said clicking open the clasps. As he began pulling out random things, I leaned forward to get a closer look.

Doing a quick glance I saw a few shirts and a pair of pants, along with my hat. Next, he pulled out my box of money, a brush, a small mirror, and an extra blanket. After that, he pulled out a newspaper. "Figured you would like something to read." he said shrugging his shoulders when I picked it curiously. Then he pulled out something that sparkled. He handed it to me gently. It was my mother's butterfly clip.

"Thank you…" were the only words that came out of my mouth. It was no more than a small whisper. I pulled the clip and held it to my heart for a brief second before looking up at Spot. "Thank you so much."

"There's more, but we couldn't fit it all…" Before he could finish, I lifted my head to his and kissed him softly on the lips. We pulled back and smiled at each other as I quickly put my clip on my bedside table as he cleared off my bed. As he did so, a small yawn escaped him.

"Tired?" I asked.

"Nah," he said, stretching his arms out. I kicked the covers off and stood up beside him. For the first time, I got a clear look at his face. His eyes were bloodshot and his eyelids kept falling but pulling themselves back open.

"Don't lie to me." I said as he yawned again. "Come on." I whispered climbing into my bed. I patted the empty space next to me. A smile escaped his lips and he started to take off his shirt before he stopped.

"Sorry, force of habit." he mumbled, trying to pull it back over his head.

"I wouldn't care…" I stopped myself before I finished my sentence. But his signature smirk graced his lips and he pulled his shirt on the rest of the way. Then he took his spot next to me, laying on his back with his arm around me. He gentle began running his fingers through my hair. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It relaxed me to hear a familiar sound.

Then for some reason, I thought of horses. About how there hooves kept a steady beat as the trotted across the cobble stone roads. I had always loved horses, they just seemed so majestic and mysterious. I nestled my head deeper into his chest and fell asleep..

"_Hurry up James or you're gonna miss it!" I yelled to a small blonde boy as he rolled his eyes. We were young, only around seven or eight and we had been friends for a long time now._

"_I'm comin', Celeste!" he yelled back. "I don't see why your making me do this!" I stood at the top of a hill just outside of Brooklyn at dusk. I could see the whole city from the top and I felt like I was on top of the world. James came up beside me, gasping for air. This time I rolled my eyes and looked out onto the falling sun._

"_Beautiful, huh?" I whispered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smiling out over the hill, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. _

"_Yeah, I guess." he said with a smug expression. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lit it. I gawked at him. He looked over at me and took a long drag of the cigarette. "What?"_

"_That's disgusting." I mumbled. His eyes widened and he looked from me to the cigarette and then back to me. He threw it to the ground and stomped it out. I smiled and he smiled back. Then we turned back to the sunset._

I woke up to feel some one playing with my hair. Only this time, I knew it was Spot. "That feels good." I said. He stopped.

"I didn't think you were awake." I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked as I stretched up. Then I looked back at Spot.

"Less than twenty minutes." he whispered, sitting up beside me. He began running his hand in circles on my back as I brushed my hair out of my face. "Did you have a bad dream?" he kissed my temple.

"Hardly." I turned to face him. "It was more of a memory that I forgot." I smiled, "Do you remember the day I found out you smoked?"

He let out a small laugh, "Yeah, how could I forget!" he smiled, looking out the window. "You made me put out a perfectly good cig. You owe me two pence for that." his voice was dripping with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes. "I'm joking."

"I know," I put my head on his shoulder, "Do you have one with you?"

He pulled his arm from my back, "A cig?" I nodded not removing my head from his shoulders. "Yeah…" he said quietly, sounding filled with regret. "I've been trying to stop but I just need a release and…"

"Can I have one?" I looked up at him to see his eyes the size of saucers. But he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small tin. He slid the little tin open and pulled out the last two cigarette in there.

"Here…" he handed one to me and put one in his own mouth. Then he pulled a match out of his pocket. Swiping it across his shoe, he lit the cig in my mouth. I inhaled and felt the smoke fill my lungs. Before I had a chance to cough, I blew it out. Then I felt a pair of eyes on the side of my head. I turned to face Spot. He had the biggest smile on his face.

"What?" I asked taking another long drag.

"Nothing, except I never thought I'd see the day when Caroline Higgins is sitting beside me, having a cig…in her bed." he said with a smirk as he took a drag of his cigarette. We puffed out together as a smile played on my lips.

"Well, you said they are good release." I muttered, lying down on my back. My cigarette was nothing but a bud. Surprisingly, I felt myself feel slightly disappointed. I shrugged and threw it across the room when it was completely burned down. Spot threw his over there to join mine.

"And what do you need a release from?" he asked lying down by my side, resting his arm behind my head. I bit my lip and took a deep breath in. Up until now, I had forgotten all about my previous meeting with Pulitzer. I still had the sick feeling in my stomach but the cigarette I thought had taken it away…clearly I was wrong. But I knew I needed to tell him.

"My fear…" I spoke in the smallest voice possible.

"Like the dark?" he squeezed me.

I shook my head, "No, it's not so much fears like the dark or snakes but more of…" I cut myself off. I took another deep breath and let it slowly. "But more of my future." I whispered.

"Why are you scared of that honey?" he asked kissing my forehead gently. My heart ached. Every part of my body ached because of my decision. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to tell him.

"I can't tell you Spot…" I whispered, feeling tears coming to my eyes. "All I can tell you is I have to a choice…" he didn't say anything else. We sat in silence and I let tears fall from my eyes to his shirt. "I'm so scared. I'm so scared that I am going to lose you James."

"I know sweetheart, I know." he pulled me into a tight hug. He cradled my head in his arms and I pulled my face farther into his chest. "Hey, I have an idea." he lifted my head up with each hand caressing my cheeks. He wiped my tears with his thumbs, "Close your eyes."

"Why?" I asked.

"Just do it Caroline." I gently shut my eyes and I felt Spot put his mouth close to my ear. "Don't worry about those choices Carol Bell, only worry about what is happening right now. It's me and you. That's all we ever need is me and you. Just keep your eyes closed and imagine we aren't even here. We're in Santa Fe and no one can tear us apart. Just keep thinking that sweetheart. And no one will ever take us away from each other again."

My tears stopped falling and a smile graced my lips. "No one?"

"No one honey, I promise. Now go to sleep." he whispered resting his lips on my forehead.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" I asked like a little child. He took a hesitant breath.

"I'll try. But really, go to sleep. I love you."

"I love you too…"I whispered as my eyes closed from exhaustion.


	22. Taking Chances

**Hey everybody! I would like to inform you I have recently updated the first few chapters of my story! Go back and read them if you like!(:**

**Written while listening to: I Write Sins, Not Tragedies by Panic! at the Disco**

**Chapter 22: Taking Chances**

"_What do you say to taking chances,_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge?_

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below_

_Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,_

_What do you say,_

_What do you say?"_

"Dammit," I mumbled as I opened my eyes to the bright sun light streaming through my window. As I reached up to grab my hat to cover my eyes, I realized it wasn't there. "Spot, give me my hat back!" I yelled with a small giggle as I rolled over onto to the side he was on. However, the other side of the bed was empty. "Spot?" I said a little louder. My answer was silence.

I felt my emotions being taken over by disappointment. I thought he was going to be here when I woke up, otherwise I wouldn't have fallen asleep. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes, which were puffy from crying last night. But I had to stop worrying about how I looked and think about my choice. This was the one decision that was going to change my life. I wiped my eyes again and stretched up.

When I turned around to crack my back, I noticed something just under my lamp. It looked like a picture. I quickly through my blanket off of me and ran over to the table.

It was a picture. The picture was of a younger version of me and Spot, in this picture I knew it was my sixth birthday. It was so hot that day and yet we spent the entire day outside playing. My mom had set the camera out just in case we did anything cute…and we did. It was the only picture that she had ever taken of me and Spot. She worked as a photographer's assistant for family portraits in Manhattan, which is the main reason we moved down there. But sometimes she managed to steal his camera for the night and take a picture.

In this picture, Spot and I were looking straight at the camera with their arms around each other and toothy grins. I was missing one of my front teeth from where Racetrack punched me on accident and I was wearing daffodils on my head. They were tied together to form a circle, which the Spot had called my crown. I had made him one out of cat tails I found down by the river.

_I ran to the side of a small hill to see my friend lying flat on his back. I threw the crown on his face with a small giggle. "What the hell is this?" he mumbled picking it up._

"_It's your crown silly! Now you can be the king of Brooklyn, just like you want!" I announced as loud as I could. Spot looked up at me with his blue eyes. _

_He stood up and adjusted his crown on his head, "Danks Caroline. But every king needs a queen." He ran around the hill collecting small flowers and tying them in a circle._

"_Why does a king need a queen James?" I crossed my arms, already knowing what this was going to lead too._

"_You know someone to keep the king company," he paused for a second. "You know to love him. And they would have to watch each other's backs no matter what." A few minutes after, that he came back and put the flowers on my head. "There we go; you can now be the queen of Manhattan. And together we can rule all of New York." he winked at me, and I felt a large blush crawl up my cheeks and butterflies started to grow in my stomach. _

A smile fell on my lips, that was the day I started to fall for him. I flipped the picture over to the back to discover something written on the back.

_Carol bell._

_Ise still gots yours back if youse gots mine. No matta wat. Member, youse my queen. Loves youse._

_James Conlon_

The handwriting was barely legible but the message got through. He knew my choice was going to be a rough one, even though he didn't know what it was.

I fell back on my bed holding the picture tightly in my hands. I looked to the far wall and bit my lip. I don't even know why I was having a hard time with this decision, I knew either way I would lose. Whether it was my freedom or everyone I cared about.

"STOP THE WORLD!" a voice shouted from outside my window.

"SELL NO PAPES!" a crowd responded. I knew those voices, I knew those voices really well. It was all of the newsies standing outside the distribution center, fighting for our rights. I stood up quickly and ran over to the window with the picture still in my hand. Their day had just began and even though I couldn't see them over the tall buildings, there were probably in the thinnest clothing because of the hot day.

I could imagine the next time I would see them would be sometime either very soon or in a very long time. I'd rather take the soon one.

At that moment, I realized which road I was going to take. It probably not work in my favor but at least they would all be safe. I'd give up my freedom any day for them. My mother always told me to do anything for my family, no matter how bad it ended up for you. So that's what I was going to do. I was going to protect my family.

My door flew open and I shoved my picture into my pocket. I looked over my shoulder to see Snyder. "Time to go." he said forcefully. I nodded and took one last look out my window.

"I'm so sorry Race…" I whispered as Snyder came up behind me and pulled my arms back into handcuffs once more. He led me out of the room as a single tear fell from my eyes.


	23. Do It Anyway

**Hey guys, check out my new story Wishing You Well! In my opinion, its really funny, tell me what you think with a little review!(:…**

**Chapter 23: Do it Anyway.**

"You can spend your whole life buildin'

Something from nothin

One storm can come and blow it all away

Build it anyway."

"This is where you will be staying as long as you decide to behave." Weasel said leading me down the steps into a pitch black room. The only light was provided by his dim lantern. My hand slid down the wood railing so I wouldn't fall and in my other hand was the suitcase that Spot had brought for me. I tried to take one more step but there wasn't one there. I tripped and landed face first. "Watch your step." he said through his chuckling, "And here we go." As I stood up, he turned the lights on.

I dusted myself off and took a good look at the room…not that there was much to look at. My prison cell was homier than this. The room consisted off a single bed on the far wall and a cracked mirror beside it. Other than that, the only thing in here was a lot of dust and a few spiders. "Lovely." I mumbled.

Weasel picked up and blanket and through it at me. "Well, may you be requiring anything else this evening?" it took me a second to figure out if he was being serious or not, but he set down the lantern and clapped his hands together. "No, okay then it be best if I said good night now." he walked towards the stairs. He stopped and leaned over the railing. His black eyes looked intently into my emerald ones. "And remember, one trick, and it is straight back to the refuge with you."

He stomped up the rest of the steps and slammed the door. I held the blanket close to my body along with the rest of my stuff. I walked over to my bed and put the sheet down on one side with my suitcase on the other. Then something caught my eye in the very back of the room.

I walked over to it and discovered a white sheet. It was freezing down here, even though it was in the high eighty's outside. I yanked off the blanket and discovered a printing press. "Whoa," I mumbled not realizing they were quite so massive. Shrugging, I folded the blanket around my arm and went back over to my bed and threw it down next to the other one.

Then I reached for my suitcase and clicked open the clasps. I pulled out Race's shirt first and a pair of pants that I decided would be my pajamas. As I was unbuttoning my shirt, I felt creepy getting undressed in a place like this. So, when I took off my shirt, I quickly grabbed my other shirt and pulled it on. I changed into my pants the same way.

I decided to leave everything else in the suitcase, having nowhere else to put it. I slid it under my bed as far as it could before I stood back up and looked at my bed. It looked so welcoming. Before I climbed in, I tucked both the sheet and the blanket into the end of the mattress and then I slid in. For as uncomfortable as it looked, it was warm and soft.

I found myself staring at the ceiling and the cobwebs. _If I stay here for a lot longer, I'm gonna need to clean. _Turning over on my left side to face the wall, my eyes drooped. "Good night everybody." I yelled as if I was in the lodging house. But there was no reply, just silence. I let out a small sigh and shut my eyes forcing myself to sleep.

"Caroline…" I heard a voice call my name. "Hey Caroline, it's time to get up!" then out of nowhere something smacked me in the back. I shot up with my fists at the ready to see Oscar and Meyers standing in front of me. Immediately I took my blanket and pulled it up to my chin. They both laughed.

"What the hell?" I screamed at them as I picked up my pillow and aimed at their faces. I threw it with all my might but Oscar caught it with great ease.

"Aw, common, be nice." he said, smiling as he tossed it off to the side. "We aint here to fight Caroline, Uncle Weas just wanted us to make sure you were up." I wiped my mouth on my shirt sleeve. "Oh and to give you a little gift from Pulitzer." From behind his back, he pulled out a white box with a green ribbon on it.

I let my covers go down a little when I reached out for the box. He pulled it away. "Give it to me then." I said reaching for it again.

"What's they magic words?" Meyers said like an idiot.

I rolled my eyes. "You're a damn idiot?" His face turned purple and tried to come towards me but Oscar pushed him back. He sulked over to the wall and leaned against it with his arms crossed. "Please give me the box." I asked with a little annoyance in my voice.

He handed it to me with a small chuckle. I untied the bow and took the top of the box off. My jaw dropped. Inside was a pink, long sleeved dress covered in ruffles, along with some makeup. I bit my lip. "Uh, yeah, thanks." I mumbled. "But I honestly don't think I will be attending any parties anytime soon so you can keep it. Cause we all know you love to play dress up." I smirked and threw in his direction but he threw it back immediately.

"It aint for no party sweet cheeks," he said with a small chuckle.

"Then what's it for?" I asked, throwing it back to him. I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail and stood up out of bed.

"It's for selling," Oscar said looking me up and down slowly. "Unless, you could always go without anything on, might sell more then." My eyes widened and I snatched the dress out of his hands. He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked, "Thought so."

I bit my lip and looked down at the ground waiting for them to leave but they didn't. I looked up with a smile. "You can leave now." I said giving a small wave. But he didn't move once more. He simply shook his head.

"Nah, you can get changed while I'm right here." he said walking towards me.

"Um, yeah that isn't alright with me." I said, looking him in the eyes. He finally got close enough I could smell his breath, his smoke and alcohol filled breath. I cringed away.

He grabbed my face and turned it back to his, "I'm afraid you don't got much of a choice."

"And why is that?" I thought about spitting in his face but I was rather curious to hear his answer. He didn't say anything; he just held my cheeks tighter. "Give me an answer before I beat the crap outta ya." I said forcefully getting fed up with this.

"Do you think that would be such a good thing to do to the guy who controls whether or not you go back to the refuge." he said with a devilish grin.

"What?" I said in shock.

"Uncle Weas didn't tell you?" he asked humorously, "I get to say if you get to go back to the refuge or not. I guess you could say that I control your freedom." My mouth went dry as I stood with my jaw open. "So that means you gotta do everything I say."

"You're lying." I shouted. His lip twitched a little but only a small amount.

He brushed my bangs out of my eyes much like Spot would but instead of loving the feel, it burned. "So, I'll leave you alone…" my mood shot up, "on one condition." And there it went.

I looked up at him and held the dress tighter to my stomach, "What?"

"You kiss me."

"Never," I told him, trying to stand my ground.

"Well, you either kiss me or I stay right here, your choice," he said bringing his face closer to mine. But I pushed past him over to the side wall by the printing press. I felt the urge to punch him in the face and knock a couple of teeth out but if he really could send me back to the refuge…I shook that idea from my head. Fighting my way out of this wasn't an option.

Through my thinking, he came up and pinned my arms against the wall. I didn't move, I couldn't because of the pressure he was putting on my wrists. "Would you just fucking make up your mind?" he squeezed harder and I felt small bruises forming. Wincing, I looked him right in his eyes, not backing down.

Then, an idea came into my head, "I have a boyfriend," I yelled, he was taken back slightly, "And he will have a problem if I kiss another guy. And believe me, he can kick your ass." I said with a fierce voice.

Oscar chuckled, "That little shrimp from Brooklyn?" This time he roared with laughter and Meyers joined in. After a minute they stopped and Oscar licked his lips, "Well he can easily be taken care of," he threw his head in Meyer's direction.

I looked over his shoulder and saw Meyers with a knife in his hand. He lifted his eyebrows and cackled. I turned back to Oscar and my stomach began to turn over, "You wouldn't dare."

"The kiss sounds pretty good right about now," he whispered in my ear.

"He'll fight for me," I whispered right back. "He isn't scared of anything." _But I am. _

"That wouldn't be in his best interest," he whispered again. I looked over at Meyers again, who was spinning the knife. My eyes filled with tears at the thought of Spot being in a knife fight. He was good at a fist fight but when knives got brought into the picture…"So what do you say?"

"Okay..." I whispered, not taking my eyes off of the knife. Oscar sneered and pulled my face to his. He smashed his lips onto mine and forced his tongue into my mouth. His breath tasted foul, worse than anything I had ever tasted. But yet, the taste was all too familiar. It was just like my father's breath after he had been drinking and was out of his mind drunk. I remember whenever I wanted him to go away, I would bite him…

Before I could even take a second thought, I bit down on Oscars tongue hard. He pulled back in pain as I spit out the blood I took. "You vittle vitch!" he said holding his tongue. He brought his hand up and back handed me.

I landed on the floor with a thud. My temple stung. I brought my hand up to hold it, only discovered it was bleeding. _He's wearing a ring…_I thought to myself. Bright stars were flashing in front of my face and I felt very dizzy. He hit me again in the stomach and I doubled in pain.

"Oscar, leave her alone…" I heard a voice say from the other side of the room. Another blow came, only this time to my right arm. "I SAID STOP!" the voice repeated. The beating stopped and I opened my eyes into little slits to see Meyers holding his brothers fist. I half expected for Oscar to fight back but he yanked his fist out of Meyers hand and seemed to calm down.

That was until he turned back to face me, "Be ready in five minutes." He spit right by my face and without another word, ran up the stairs and slammed the door. I sat up, wiped my mouth, just to notice Meyers still standing there. He held out a hand to me, but I turned away wiping my eyes.

"That wasn't fair," he mumbled, "its different when you have a chance to fight back." I looked up at him with wide eyes in disbelief. This was the guy who I had beaten up every day for years and he was standing up for me. "Well, I'll leave."

He spun around and made his way quickly to the door. "Thank you," I said in almost a whisper. He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Don't mention it…to anyone," he mumbled. I watched as he ran up the stairs and shut the door once more, leaving me alone at last.

I quickly stood up and ran over to the mirror to get a good look at my temple. It was bruised and had a small gash but it wasn't a kill shot, I would live. Not to mention it sure went nice with my other bruise under my chin. I just wish I had something to cover it up from the boys when I went out this morning. _Will they even care that I got hurt? _

I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut. I sighed and opened my eyes and walked over to the box to grab the makeup I was so kindly provided with. I didn't have time to make myself look pretty, only time to cover up with now purple bruise; the gash would be difficult to cover. Instead I just covered the bruise and pulled my hair out of the pony tail, letting it fall into natural curls.

Finally I pulled on my dress and took a final look in the mirror. I actually didn't look terrible; beside the fact my eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and the bruises that covered my face. The dress covered the ones on my arms. I looked like a little doll that young girls played with. The only part that I liked about it was my necklace, which rested on the outside of the turtle neck.

I gently touched it.

"_He'll fight for me," I whispered right back. "He isn't scared of anything." _

"_That wouldn't be in his best interest," he whispered again. I looked over at Meyers again, who was spinning the knife. My eyes filled with tears at the thought of Spot being in a knife fight. He was good at a fist fight but when knives got brought into the picture…"_

I wrapped my fingers tightly around it and squeezed it. I didn't want to let go until it left a perfect imprint on my hand that would stay there forever.

"STOP THE WORLD, SELL NO PAPES!" yelling came from just outside my window. It was so much closer and louder than in my prison cell. It was probably because they were just outside.

My heart sunk a little. They were just outside. My boys, my family, my world. The boys I was going to have to lie to in order to keep them safe.

My door flew open, "Common Caroline, time to get the day started!" A world employee yelled down to me.

"Coming!" I yelled up the steps. I let go of the necklace and only half of the little heart was on there. _A broken heart…_


	24. Pretending

**Hello! I am writing up here to make a dedication. This chapter is dedicated to my very, very good friend Angelbaby63(: Its is her birthday today, so send her a message or go review her story with a birthday message!(: **

_Chapter 24: Pretending_

_"Face to face and heart to heart  
We're so close yet so far apart  
I close my eyes I look away  
That's just because I'm not okay"_

Spot's P.O.V

"Stop the world, sell no papes!" we all yelled in unison at the top of our lungs. I held my cane high in the air and led the chanting as we waited for the scabber's day to start. Since Caroline has been gone, I had taken the role of the leader with David assistance. Even with help, it was difficult to control all of these guys. It makes me give Caroline so much more credit for this.

_Caroline._ There was a pain in the pit of my stomach as her name entered my mind. It has only been two days since I last saw her and I miss her more than anything. Yes, we went a few months without seeing each other, but things have changed between us. People still don't know were together but they are starting to catch on. They notice I'm not talking as much or not as tough. I just don't care anymore…

"Help!" I heard David cry as he pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up from the ground and saw the gate was open; I must have missed the day opening. He ran up next to me and grabbed Race's shoulders and began shaking him frantically. "Race I need your help!" he yelled loudly. Over his shoulder, I noticed a couple of young boys fighting.

Race threw his arms off of him, "Alright, I aint deaf!" As they sat there arguing, I rolled my eyes. I walked over to the boys.

"Hey, hey, hey break it up." I said with a small bit of power in my voice. They coward away and I smirked behind their backs. When they were just far enough from my view, I turned my attention back to the fence. My jaw dropped and I felt my eyes bulge out of my head. Because standing before me was a beautiful teenage girl in a long pink dress with soft chestnut curls falling just past her shoulders and eyes like the spring grass. "Race," I reached out and pulled him forward in the crowd. His reaction matched my own, "Please just tell me I'm seeing things and that isn't Caroline."

"Nah, Spot, you aint seeing things," he paused for a moment and hurt crossed his face. "That's Caroline alright." He put his head down and mumbled, "What does she think she's doin?"

For the first time, I got a good look at her. Her face was expressionless but I knew she was struggling with that. But that wasn't the only thing I realized about her face. I noticed that she not only had one bruise under her chin but on her temple along with a small gash. _Where did she get those? Certainly not the refuge, they love her there…_I wanted to call out for her but my throat went dry. I tried to look away but I just simply couldn't.

"I'll tell her what she is doin," David yelled from the other side of Race. "She sold us out so she could dress like a scabba!" he yelled directly to her, almost spitting the comments. Her face didn't change; it was still stone cold, although I did notice her eyes lost some of their color at the comment.

"Caroline, Caroline look at me!" Mush yelled with sorrow filling his voice. Her eyes stayed directly forward, "Look at me, its Mush! What are you doin', Caroline?" he tried to push past the line of cops that were forming a barricade around us now. But that didn't stop the boys.

Everyone was trying to push forward to get a good look and truly see if it was Caroline. Blink was screaming from in front of us, "This can't be happening! Caroline come on! You're better than that."

"Where did you get those clothes?" Boots asked her as loud as he could. Instead the plump man sitting next to her answered.

"Mr. Pulitzer picked them out himself. Aren't they just lovely?" he gestured for her to spin but she shot him a death glare. Then her eyes dropped and I noticed her face wasn't expressionless any more. She was biting her lip, trying to stop it from quivering. The man turned back to us, "It's a very special gift for a special new employee." He cackled.

The whole crowd was in an uproar as he said this. "Employee!" Flame, one of my newsies, yelled. "I always knew she was a worthless, little whore!" I clenched my fists as he spat at her. I couldn't start a massive fight right here, then it would be chaos. Angel came up to my side and rested his hand gently on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm gonna soak you, you lousy bum!" David yelled, running straight to the barrier of cops. They stopped him easily and threw him back into the crowd. Her eyes were now swarming with tears and she didn't face any of us. She just kept her eyes down and her fists down by her side.

"Alright, let me get my hands dirty!" Racetrack yelled, fighting to get over the policemen. "I thought you were better than this Caroline!" Tears rolled down her cheeks but she never let them fall. Instead she crossed her arms and put her head down. "No, I knew you were better than this! You betrayed us Caroline!" People grabbed him from behind and dragged him to the back of the crowd as he was still screaming.

I took a small step forward, with Angels arm falling from my shoulder, to get a better look. "Aww, you wanna talk to her too?" the chubby man asked. "Common, go right ahead." Caroline looked up to see who he was tell this to, and her eyes widened. I saw her grab her stomach as he gestured for the police to let me through. She turned to face the man and from what I could tell, unless my eyes were steering me wrong, but she was pleading him.

"Not him, please, I will talk to anyone but him!" she pleaded in almost a whisper. The man shoved her off and she fell to the ground with a small thud. She looked down at the ground and I clenched my fists even tighter. _I really want to beat the shit out of this guy right now_ _but right now, you need some answers._ The crowd was silent and no one moved, waiting for my next move.

I walked over to Caroline, who was still on the ground, either to ashamed to get up or she really didn't want to talk to me. I held out my hand to her. She looked at it for a long time but eventually got up by herself. She crossed her arms event tighter and looked away from me, "Hey Caroline." I mumbled, not knowing what else to say. "Care to explain this?" I asked, looking her up and down.

"Not really," she said looking up. That was when I got a good look at her face. Her eyes were blood shot and extremely puffy, like she had been crying. The gash on her temple was bleeding.

I lifted my fingers up to her cut but she faced away, "Don't touch me." She snapped at me. I winced and bit my lip. She rolled her eyes and snickered at me. "You wanted to talk to me, so talk." She crossed her arms.

"Alright," I mumbled rubbing my hands together. "Well first of, what do you think your doin'?" she looked taken back by this question. "The Caroline I know, she doesn't dress like this. She doesn't turn away from me, or snap at me. She doesn't even lie to people…"

She burst out in laughter, "That's rich Spot. I don't lie to people? Hell, I have been lying my entire life! I lied about my father, I lied about where my parents have been, I even lied about my own name! But most of all I lied about loving you..." she looked me right in the eyes as she spat out that last statement. My jaw dropped.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh you never knew that one? Well aint that the dandiest thing!" she said with a small laugh. "Maybe Meddas right, I should be an actress. Yeah, that's right James, you're just another little part of my game. Nothing more." I would have believed her but I had noticed something…There was something massively wrong with the tone of her voice. It wasn't strong and sturdy, like it usually was when she was saying something cruel. Instead, it was very shaky and sounded like it usually did before she was about to cry. That's when it came to me.

She didn't want to say any of this…but something was forcing her too. But for her sake, I went along with it. "Fine then, what game? What does the great Caroline have going on in her head?"

Her face changed, softening slightly. "The game that results in me and Racetrack getting the hell out of here before we die." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes but it almost looked like she was trying to wipe a tear away. "You don't understand Spot, I have money for the first time in my life. Real actual money. Do you know how good that feels?" she asked with desperation in her voice.

"Probably not as good as being around people who love you and would take care of you no matter what," I said. "The newsies always had your back. Your one of us, and that's what newsies do, watch each other's backs."

"Is that so?" she spat back. "What did being a newsie ever get me but some spare change and a black eye every now and then. Yeah, they looked out for me like I was a little kid. But you wanna know something? I can't afford to be a kid no more. I got Race to look after and myself."

"He's a big boy Caroline, he aint a kid no more either. He don't need you to tuck him in every night. But after this little stunt, what makes you think that he is going to want you anymore." I mumbled. She bit her lip and looked like she got smacked in the face. "In a matta of fact, I'm pretty sure none of us will want you anymore."

"Shut up," she mumbled. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, she didn't bother to catch then this time. She choked out a small sob, "You think I want this?" she said in a very small whisper. "You think that I wanna be away from all of you…to go against you guys." Quickly she covered her mouth and turned her face away. "I'm done, I don't wanna talk to you anymore."

"Okay," I whispered right back. My hand went up to her cheek but I pulled it back. I began to head back to the newsies but I instantly went back as I thought of something. "I do truly love you and I will be here for you no matter what." She looked up at me, her eyes filling with tears once more, shaking her head. I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked.

"Spot!" she yelled. I spun around with a smile on my face, expecting her to run into my arms, kiss me, and tell me this was one giant joke. She jogged towards me with her hands tight in fists by her side. She lifted her left hand up and opened it. I looked down and saw a small, little gold heart attached to a small piece of string. It was the other half of our locket. "Take it," she said. "I don't want it anymore."

She shoved it forward but I shoved it right back. "No, it's yours. I don't want it back."

"I DON'T WANT IT!" she yelled and threw it on the ground. She looked around the entire crowd and then back to me, "I don't want any of it!" she spun around and began to run away. But I reached out and grabbed her arm and flung her around to face me. When I did, her fist made contact with my cheek.

The pain over whelmed me as I fell to the ground. My tongue went to my cheek and I felt a small little cut on it, it wasn't bleeding though. My cheek hurt really bad but not as bad as who gave the pain to me. I looked up and saw Caroline running past all of the scabs, back to the distribution center.

"Holy shit Spot!" Angel fought past the wall of bulls and made her way over to me. She helped me up. "Are you okay? I can't believe she punched you!" I looked down at the ground and grabbed the locket.

"I can." I mumbled and held it tightly in my palm. "Come on, lets go." We walked side by side to the boys and I met with a mixed group of my newsies and Caroline's. "Your lodging house, now." I said in a commanding voice. They all nodded in agreement and began in that direction.

But before I followed, I looked back to see a guy with a smirk, glaring at me. "Hey Race, wait a minute." He jogged back towards me.

"What?" he asked.

"Who is that?" I pointed to the guy.

"That's Oscar, he works at the distribution center." he said in a flat voice. "He is nothing worth dealing with." He began to jog off before I pulled him back. "What?" he asked annoyingly.

I pulled his head close, and whispered so no one else could hear. "Do you truly believe that Caroline said all of those words on her own account?" He shook his head. "Good, me either."

**A small review for myself would be nice(: **


	25. Can't Back Down

**Hey guys, I am so sorry for the really longggg wait…but I honestly have an excuse. I got in a car accident with my boyfriend about two months ago. I broke my right wrist, collar bone, and got bruised up pretty bad. He is okay as well, just feels terrible. Once again, I apologize for the wait.**

**Chapter 25: We Can't Back Down**

"Don't close your eyes

We're all in this together

Wherever we draw the line

We're not gonna straddle across it

Or lose it."

**Spot's P.O.V.**

"God, I can't believe her!" David yelled as we entered the lodging house. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Racetrack roll his eyes. I patted him on his back and pointed to a table in the far corner. We walked over and sat down.

"She just left us!" Blink yelled throwing himself down on the couch next to Angel and Blitz. All the others grabbed a seat around the room, complaining about Caroline.

"She is so damn selfish! Leavin us to do this strike thing all on our own just so she can dress all fancy and shit. I'm done with this stupid strike," Boots yelled. I clenched my fists hard. Why are they judging her like this when they know they would have done the same thing put in her situation?

"I always thought Caroline was better than that," Blitz whispered.

Flame stood up from his chair in the far corner and yelled, "Really now, did ya?" he spat at the floor. "I always knew she was a good for nothing, little…" Before he could finish what he was saying, my fist made contact with his nose. We all heard a small little crack and Flames nose began gushing out blood. "What the hell Spot?"

"You just don't know when to shut up now do you?" I spat out. "You don't even know Caroline, you sick bastard." The room was silent. Now I looked up and addressed the whole room. "None of you know the real Caroline. There only about three people in this room who know her well enough to judge her. So you all just need to shut the hell up." I looked down at Flame again, who had tears running down his cheeks. "Get oughtta my sight."

He stood up quickly and ran away just as fast. Flame had always seemed hard core but really he was a big baby that couldn't stand being in pain. I rolled my eyes, "Anyone else?" I asked the now quiet crowd. No one said a word and I began to head back to my seat when a chair scratched against the floor. I spun around on my heels, prepping myself for a fight. But standing in front of me was David, his face soft but stern.

"None of knew Caroline because she never let any of us in," he said with power behind his voice. He took a small step toward me and continued in a quieter voice that I'm sure only I could hear. "She lied to me about everything in her life. All I want in the moment is to know what she did tell me that was the truth."

I bit my lip and look to Angel. She gave a small nod as if to give me approval to share all of her best friend's secrets. I looked back at Race who gave the same nod but then pointed upstairs. It was my turn to nod. "Okay," I said turning back to David. "But we have to go upstairs." I added in a small voice.

David headed for the doorway and I motioned for Angel and Racetrack to join us. Blitz stood up as well. "Would you mind if I joined?" he asked. I looked back once more for Race's and Angel's approval, but they were already up the stairs.

"Yeah, common." I mumbled. "We'll be right back fellas!" I yelled to all of the boys in the main sitting area. They gave nods and mumbles but honestly now, I think they were more interested in their poker game then Caroline.

I walked up the stairs and down the hall to an open door at the end. Blitz was just entering the room when I stopped about half way down the hall. It was Caroline's room, the one sacred place she could go to and not have to be someone she wasn't. And now, it was the place that all her secrets were going to be told.

I began walking towards it a little more slowly, taking small breaths as I did. My hand went to my pocket to hold her half of the locket when I entered the room. This was the first time I had been in here since her birthday. And even though it was just four days ago, I feel like years have gone by. But nothing had changed since the last time I was in here, it still smelled like lavender and the newspaper clippings still hung proudly on the wall.

And yet, it didn't feel right being in here without her.

David and Blitz were sitting on the bed while Race and Angel stood against the opposite wall. I decided I should take some place in the middle. It was quiet for a few minutes and all you could hear was the sound of my pacing. Eventually, I decided to break the silence.

"Alright, what do you wanna know?" I asked.

"Well," David said first. "I wanna know why she lied to me about her name?"

I stopped pacing and looked at David, "She didn't lie to you about her name, well not in a way you should be hurt by it. Yes, Celestina is her real name but Caroline, much like Spot or Racetrack, is her newsie name." His eyes widened as I said the last part.

"But why would she use a real name like that?" Blitz asked his eyes filled with wonder.

Race laughed in the back. "She didn't pick it," he said coming up beside me.

"But I thought the leaders always picked the names," David asked.

"Yes, that's true but Caroline wasn't always the leader of Manhattan." Angel said, but unlike Race, she stayed on the wall.

"You see, when Caroline and I first came here, she was about ten years old," Race continued. "And the leader at the time, well his name was Jack Kelley." He paused for a minute. "He kinda took her under his wing, said she reminded him of his little sista or somethin," he gave a small shrug. "But anyway, she went on a few months without a name. He said that with a name like Celestina, she would be okay without a newsie name…that is until the first time she got sent to the refuge."

He drops his head a little bit, so I decide it's time to take over. "So when she escaped, he said that now that she was known by the cops, she needed a new name for her. So he gave her the name Caroline…"

"But why?" David interrupted.

"I was just about to explain that." I said through gritted teeth. Angel put a tender hand on my shoulder. I went over to the window, which was open, and sat down. My hand tried to go down to my pocket to grab a smoke but I decided that I couldn't smoke in her room. I pinched the bridge of my nose as Angel continued.

"He gave her the name because it meant 'beautiful woman'," she muttered. "Caroline had always been thought to be one of the most beautiful people Jack Kelley had ever seen…but then again she was the only goil newsie at the time. A lot more goils have joined since then. I wasn't even in America when this happened."

"But yeah, that's the story behind the name..." Racetrack said in a small voice. "Next question?" David still seemed awed but he scratched his chin.

"Why was she in the refuge?" he asked next.

Race and Angel both looked back at me, "Spot's gonna have to answer that one." Race said in almost a whisper. I shook my head. _No, not that one, he doesn't need to know that one. _But Race, reading my mind, nodded his head.

I let out a small sigh, silently praying that she would forgive me eventually for saying all her secrets. "I was twelve going on thirteen when I made my first visit to Manhattan…I remember it like it was yesterday…" I looked out the window, remembering all the events of that trip.

_I crossed over the bridge with a huge satisfied grin on my face. It was first time I had ever been out of Brooklyn and I was going as our leaders, Wiggly, second in command. Being almost thirteen, that's a rather large accomplishment. _

_When we reached the edge of the bridge, I expected to see streets of gold, free food, and good, kind people. Caroline had always talked highly of Manhattan, saying it was so much better than Brooklyn. I believed her too. Only when I was on the edge of the bridge, staring at Manhattan, I realized how right she was. It wasn't what I imagined but it still looked nicer than Brooklyn. _

"_Common Conlon," Wiggly yelled from a few feet in front of me. I stumbled over my feet to try and catch up with him. We walked swiftly through the dark alleys, pushing our way through the mass amount of people that filled the streets. My eyes never once left the back of Wiggly's head, knowing if I lost him, I'd be totally alone. That is what I was afraid of in those days, to be alone._

_As we rounded a corner, something caught my attention down the road. It was a long, auburn curl sticking out of a young kid selling newspapers. Although I couldn't see the front half of the person, I knew it's a twelve year old girl. I stopped walking and continued to stare at the single curl. It was sticking out of the hat like a small pig's tail. "Spot?" I heard Wiggly say in a panic._

"_I'm here Wig, but I'll catch up in a few, there's somethin' I need to check." He rolled his eyes but spun on his heels and went back on his way to the lodging house. _

_When I lost his back in the crowd, I turned back to look at the newsie. She looked to be on her last paper so I went up behind her, getting so close, I could smell lavender soap that she must have used earlier that morning. I longed to reach out and touch the curl but I dared not to, knowing it would end well for my lower extremities. Instead, I put on a thick smirk and took my hat off and fanned myself with it._

"_Ya know," her shoulders tensed up as I let the words come out as arrogantly as possible, "it aint very often you see an angelic figure, like yourself, out sellin papes." Her free hand resting down by her side clenched into a fist. _

"_Go away, I don't have time to deal with an arrogant jerk who wants to offer me money to…" her voice trailed off as turned to face me. Her green eyes met my deep blue ones and her jaw dropped. "James?" she said in an almost whisper. _

"_Hey Celestina," I responded, making my smirk a little softer. Before I knew what was happening, I was on the ground with Caroline, who was Celestina at the time, on top of me. I silently thanked God that we were in a part of the road that there weren't many people. Her arms were tightly around my neck, gripping me so hard, that I was having trouble breathing. _

"_Whatareyoudoinhere? Icantbelieveit,ImeanIthoughtIwouldntseeyou…" she was talking so fast, it all came out as one word._

"_Celeste," I said trying to breath, but she continued to talk. "Celestina!" _

"_What?" she asked._

"_Would you mind loosenin' your grip? I kinda can't breathe."_

_Her arms immediately loosened. "Yeah, sorry." She jumped off of me and held her arm out to help me. I smirked as slid my large hand into her petite one and she pulled me up. Her hands were soft and were a little bit slippery from ink from the papers. We stood hand in hand for a few moments, but she pulled back, biting her lip. _

_My stomach let out a small growl, which caused her to giggle. "Hungry much?" I gave a small nod and she grabbed my wrist and started pulling me down the streets, leaving her last paper on the street. We turned around corners and down long narrow alleys, until she stopped abruptly in front of me. I ran into her with a small oomf._

" '_Ey, what's the big deal…" she waved her hand back at me, trying to silent me. _

"_Do you hear that?" she asked in a small whisper. At first, I didn't hear anything other than the commotion of the people on the street. _

"_I don't hear…" I was cut off by a large cry. It could only be heard if you were listening for it, which is why we heard it. We exchanged small glances and started running closer to the cry. We passed three alleys until we found the one were the sound was coming from. _

_Caroline stopped again, and this time I stopped with her. She was staring down the alley and her fists clenched. My glance joined her and what I saw; well it's an image you can never get rid of. A young boy was on the ground with blood dripping from his face. But that wasn't the part that shocked us, "Somebody help!" he cried. A tall figure, dressed in a navy blue uniform punched him. _

"_I said shut the hell up!" The tall figure hissed. The young boy whimpered in pain. Before I could reach out and grab her, Caroline raced for the alley. I ran after her to try and get ahold of her but it was too late, her first punch flew. The figured groaned in surprise and she took a kick to where it hurts._

"_James, get him outta here!" She yelled back to me. I grabbed the boy on the ground and dragged him away from the fight. He was near passed out and was bleeding a good amount. The fight continued in the background. _

"_Thanksssss….." the boy whispered._

"_What's your name?" I asked leaning him against a wall._

"_Michael, but…they all call…me Mush…" that was all he said before he blacked out. I looked over at Caroline. She was against the wall and he held back his arm as if getting ready to throw a punch. I ran and jumped the guy, knocking him to the ground. I punched him in the face back and forth, until blood streamed from his nose and mouth. Caroline joined and eventually broke his nose._

"The cops showed up a few seconds later, "I whispered. "And the rest you can say is history…" The room was silent. No one spoke, no one moved. David sat with his jaw opened slightly, Blitz just sat with a wondering look. My eyes were a little watery from recalling the memory and my cheeks were hot. My legs got a little shaky so I went back over the window and sat down once more.

"Damn…" was the first word spoken. It had come from David's mouth. He clenched his fists in his lap, "I can't believe she…she would do that."

"I can." Blitz said sticking a cigarette in his mouth.

Angel wiped tears from her eyes, "That's the way she is. She believes everyone is equal and fair. And no one should _ever_ be hurt."

"The worst part of that whole story, is that the bull got away with the entire thing while Caroline and Spot spent time in prison." Racetrack mumbled.

"That's not fair!" David said standing up and stomping the ground.

"Nothing is ever fair for us," Angel said.

Racetrack looked forward with an intense passion in his eyes, "That's why we started this damn strike, to get equal rights. We owe it to Caroline and all the other kids who have been accused of crimes and not getting their fair share."

"Which is why we can't give up…" I mumbled. "We have to win this thing, for Caroline." I stood up, sharing Racetracks passion. "We have to win this for everyone. We can't back down."


	26. Keep Holding On

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait! **

Chapter 26: Keep Holding On

"_So far away  
I wish you were here  
Before it's too late, this could all disappear  
Before the doors close  
And it comes to an end"_

"Good night, Higgins! Hope you sleep well." Meyers sneered from the top of the stairs. He looked over the railing at me and I felt my face twitch away. He slammed the door behind him, cackling as he walked away. When the footsteps faded slowly out of my hearing ability, I ran over to the edge of my bed and grabbed my shirt that was laying on the floor.

This was the third night in a row that Meyers had come into my room and told me to take off my shirt. The first night, when I didn't do it, he hit me. Then last night, I began to and then stopped, he nearly broke my wrist. Today, with tears in my eyes, I did it. I had never felt so exposed in my entire life. The only other person besides my mother that had seen me in just my under shirt, was Spot. Even then, I was nothing more than a little girl and we were going swimming.

I pulled my shirt over my head and wiped my eyes. My throat was sore from crying and screaming. I grabbed the small cup of water that Oscar had given me earlier. As of late, he had been my main source of kindness, my only friend.

Tears began forming in my eyes again. I was totally alone in this world, with no one to protect me. No one to hold me and tell me it was going to be okay. No, I was completely alone except for on single, solitary soul.

I went back over to my bed and sat down against the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest. I gently slid my hand under a sack of mint leaves that I had transformed into a pillow of sorts. My hand closed over the photo of Spot and I. I pulled it out, taking a quickly looking at it.

Then, I rested my forehead on my knees, I let out a single sob. And then squeaked out another, and then another, until I was in a full blown sobs. I clutched the photo close to my chest, "Oh James- I am so sorry." I whispered through my tears.

I gently placed my finger on Spots face, begging to feel his warmth. But nothing came through. My eyes began to dry, and my sobs quickly turned into hiccups. I wiped my eyes and grabbed the now half-full cup of water.

I sipped it slowly and within a moment the hiccups were gone. Just as I was about to raise the glass to my lips for the second time, two frantic knocks came from the window, causing me to spill the remints of the glass all over me. "Shit." Two more knocks. I stood up, wringing out the bottom of my shirt, "Jeez hold your horses Oscar, I comin'!" Another two knocks rang through when I finally pushed the chair up to the window and unlocked it.

I opened it to find Oscar panting like he had just run a marathon, "Breathe Oscar." I said with a slight chuckle.

"Caroline… I came…as soon as I heard," he was still gasping for air in between each word.

"Oscar, do you wanna come inside and sit down?" I asked, stepping slightly off the chair to make room for him when he grabbed my arm.

"No, listen to me!" Oscar yelled. I tried to pull my arm from his grasp but he held on tighter. That was the moment I looked up at his face, it was filled with fear. "I haven't much time till I have to be home, so shut up and listen."

"Oscar, you're scarin' me…what's wrong?" I asked pulling myself back up to be face to face with him.

"He…he wants to hurt them. He wants to hurt them real bad to get to you." He said taking a deep breath in. He squeezed my arm.

"Who? And who does he want to hurt?" I asked now in a panic.

"Meyers and the crib," he said slowly. "They're gonna go after your little brother and your partner!" I felt my stomach drop all the way down to my toes.

"No," I whispered, I felt as if I was gasping for air. "No, no, no…"

"Caroline," Oscar's voice called, but it had never sounded so far away. The room was spinning and I felt myself falling. "CAROLINE!" As my feet slipped from the chair, Oscar let go of my arm and jumped through the window. Right as I was about to make contact with the ground, caught my head, leaving the rest of my body limp on the ground.

He picked me up, carried me over to my bed and layed my head on the pillow. But I wasn't feeling light headed anymore, instead, I was furious. "What do you mean he wants to hurt them?" I asked sitting up. Oscar sat down at the edge of my bed.

"I mean he physically wants to make it so that they can't walk anymore," he whispered brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"If he lays one finger on them, so help me God, I will…"

"You will what Caroline? You can't do anything without going back into the refuge! Then he will definitely beat them and you can't do anything about it." He retorted back to me. I bit my lip. He was right, there was nothing I could do. "Which is why we have to be smart about this."

I looked over him in confusion, "Whatcha thinkin Oscar?" He let on a sinister smile.

"Well, it involves you fighting again…"

"I thought you said that would send me straight back to refuge…" I whispered.

"Not if you run," he said having his smile grow. This time I smiled back.


End file.
